HOT PURSUIT

For those of you who know me and have followed the plight of local journalism in this newspaper in recent years, I have always been a strong proponent of journalism and how it plays a critical role in our democracy.

That value was instilled in me more than 40 years ago when I began working for my hometown newspaper.

Over the years I have demonstrated numerous examples of how local journalism keeps the public informed and active. I believe journalism’s importance has never been more crucial than now.

Ever since the advent of the internet, Big Tech companies, ie: Facebook and Goggle, have used their power to manipulate the online news industry for their own financial gain. They set the rules for how, where and when we see news content online and how much revenue is made.

I cannot believe how much misinformation is generated through Facebook. But that’s a discussion we can have another time. For now I am focused on the revenue side of things.

And, yes, we are a small business fighting to stay alive. Producing a newspaper and the content you have come to expect from us doesn’t come cheap.

Much to the chagrin of local news outlets, the government has failed to step in.

By not negotiating with local and small news publishers on usage terms, and refusing to pay them fairly for their work, Big Tech has driven many local outlets out of business.

What adds to the madness is that as newsrooms have been forced to close or scale back, Big Tech dangles untrustworthy information on its platforms for news consumers to digest.

For our democracy to function properly, the government has a duty to make sure that every industry is operating fairly, and that major economic players are conducting business responsibly.

Elected officials now have a duty to reign in Big Tech and safeguard a pillar of our democracy. They need to restore fairness to an already fractured media industry, which in many cases is on life support and fighting for survival.

In the coming days, Congress will be faced with the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA). This bipartisan bill is aimed at addressing Goggle and Facebook’s chokehold on the free press.

The JCPA would provide a temporary, limited antitrust safe harbor for small, local news publishers to collectively negotiate with Facebook and Google for fair compensation for the use of their content. It’s narrowly tailored to ensure that coordination by news publishers is only in the interest of protecting trustworthy, quality journalism, and is designed to incentivize and reward publishers who are investing in journalists and newsroom personnel.

Supporters say the JCPA will bring about much-needed change by making the news and publishing industries fairer for smaller media entities and local operators.

It’s my hope that the Minnesota congressional delegation agrees that the honest, quality reporting we provide our readers—and the future of all local journalism—is worth fighting for.

I can’t think of anything more important than going in hot pursuit of battling for news coverage to ensure our democracy lives on.