As scrutiny into the practices of large tech firms increases, the House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee on Tuesday held a hearing on the impact platforms like Google and Facebook have on the media.
“All of these companies say the right things ー and they’ve put some charitable money behind trying to make publishers happy,” David Chavern, the president and CEO of the News Media Alliance, told Cheddar after testifying at the hearing. “We don’t need or want charity. What we want is a sustainable business relationship. And we haven’t gotten there yet.”
The News Media Alliance, formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America, is a trade association that represents about 2,000 newspapers in North America. Others who testified at the hearing included David Pitofsky, general counsel for News Corp and Sally Hubbard, the director of enforcement strategy at the Open Markets Institute.
At the hearing, lawmakers discussed the online advertising market, fact-checking, and fake news, among other topics.
Journalism, and even digital-first outlets, have for years struggled to sustain profitable business models. Outlets have typically relied on a combination of ad-revenue and subscriptions, but social media platforms and search engines, namely Facebook ($FB) and Google ($GOOGL), have forced publishers to compete with free content available across the entire internet, and not just their media peers.
Newsroom jobs have declined by nearly a quarter in the past decade, according to Pew.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that since the start of the millennium, newspaper industry jobs more broadly have been cut by half.
The power of tech platforms has motivated some politicians, and some journalists, to call for their breakup (though that may not be the only antitrust remedy available).
There’s also proposed legislation for the journalism industry specifically, titled the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, that would allow news organizations to organize collectively against large tech companies without facing pricing collusion violations themselves.
"Companies like Facebook and Google swallow up 60 percent of digital ad revenue, and so it doesn't leave much of the pie for the actual content creators, and for news publishers, which is why I got laid off in January, it's why local newspapers are going under," Laura Bassett, a former culture and political reporter for nearly 10 years at HuffPost, told Cheddar Tuesday.
The News Media Alliance has estimated that Google makes $4.7 billion from news every year, a number, which gained attention through a New York Times article just before the hearing.
But the Alliance’s calculations have faced pushback from media commentators and outlets like Nieman Lab and Intelligencer, since the eye-opening figure appears to be based on a single quote from 2008 from then Google vice president Marissa Mayer.
In an email to Cheddar, a Google spokesperson called these numbers “inaccurate” and “back of the envelope calculations.” The company argues that the study ignored what Google provides news sources, such as driving clicks ー Google says around 10 billion ー to publisher websites, which help develop outlets’ subscriptions and ad businesses.
“If you don’t like the study, there's two things that could happen. One, Google could actually — they have the information — they could reveal whatever they think the number is. Or, if somebody has a critique, talk about how else you could get at the number,” said Chavern. “But some of the critique seems to imply that we shouldn’t even ask, and I don’t get that at all.”
U.S. officials spoke to Russian leaders for nearly eight hours earlier this week, in hopes of reducing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Russia forced the west to the negotiating table by massing 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, sparking fears of an invasion, and then submitted a set of demands which the west rejected. Joel Rubin, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State & President at Washington Strategy Group explains what the rest of the week might look like, and why other European nations may be on the side of the U.S.
Chicago schools opened their doors again following a dispute between the teachers union and the city over as the omicron variant continues to surge, but the safety issues they fought over weren't just limited to the Windy City. Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, family medicine and urgent care doctor, joined Cheddar in discussing concerns of parents, teachers, and students as schools try to operate amid COVID and noted what she's been observing as the number of infections among children rises. "I am seeing them contract the illness from so many different aspects," she said. "It could be from a fellow classmate. It could be from a parent. All of those things really play in the effect of transmission as well as contracting the illness."
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) is looking for clarification about a federal standard regarding THC impairment while driving. "I think in terms of marijuana, the fact that it's still a Schedule 1 narcotic — it's treated the same as heroin and cocaine — it means that we can't get standards developed," he said about the lack of cohesive regulations. The lawmaker also explained his previous opposition to cannabis legalization in Colorado when he was governor and why his position changed.
With Martin Luther King Jr. Day fast approaching, Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C. 6th District), the House Majority Whip, talked about the importance of honoring the iconic civil rights activist. "As we consider the life and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., let's think about who and what we are as a country, and whether or not we're going to give up on the ideals of this country or continue to press forward," he said. Clyburn also discussed the push for new voting legislation, the For the People Act and the John Lewis Act, as well as the fate of the Senate filibuster.
One year after the attack on Capitol Hill, America is still deeply divided and politically broken. Zoe Tillman, senior reporter for BuzzFeed News, breaks down President Biden's remarks on January 6, and why the country disagrees on its views over the violent insurrection.
While the pandemic caused financial troubles for many, the unique circumstances of the last two years proved helpful to many Americans. Whether it was the federal government's stimulus checks, expanded unemployment insurance, or general lockdowns, recent data reveals that the covid-19 pandemic helped many reach financial security. Neale Godfrey, Financial Expert and New York Times #1 Best Selling Author joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
U.S. markets opened higher despite red-hot inflation data which showed the highest surge in nearly 40 years. Jon Maier, CIO, GlobalX ETFs joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss this historic report.
Meta's request to have a Federal Trade Commission antitrust lawsuit dismissed was rejected by a federal judge. Prosecutors presented enough evidence in their latest filing to go forward with the case accusing the tech giant of operating a social networking monopoly through Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Covid cases have started to spike again across the nation, and this time they seem to be hitting some of our youngest and most vulnerable - school-aged children. School districts across the nation - including the country's largest public school system in New York City- are all grappling with what to do as teachers and students alike continue to miss school in droves.
Katie Honan, reporter for the New York City-based non profit news organization, The City explains how educational leaders across the country are handling covid demands from both teachers and parents alike.
Last week, the Supreme Court began here to hear arguments on two of the President's COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The vaccine or testing requirement for employees of large businesses, as well as the vaccine mandate for health care providers who get funding through either Medicare or Medicaid. The justices in DC will ultimately decide whether or not federal agencies even have the authority to issue these types of mandates. Editor at large of employment at Law 360, Vin Gurrieri, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
