Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2022)
Page 6 The Skanner Portland & Seattle December 21, 2022 News Capitol Hill Lawmakers Push Bill That Hurts Local and Black- owned Newspapers By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire O n the surface, the Journalism Compe- tition and Preser- vation Act sounds like a win for news or- ganizations that remain committed to providing vital information for their communities. It also sounds suitable for the survival of im- portant local news. However, like many pieces of legislation that float around Capitol Hill, flaws abound. Intended to support local journalism, the bill introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) would create a link tax on social media platforms. The bill suggests law- makers would carve out an exception in the fed- eral antitrust law and allow U.S. publishers to negotiate payment from websites that profit from aggregating lists of links on the search and social media platforms where users can click on and visit a news site. In Klobuchar and her colleagues’ attempt to save local news from tech behemoths like Goo- gle, Facebook, and Twit- ter, critics contend that the legislation would be the final nail in the cof- fin of small and minori- ty-owned newspapers and media companies. The National Newspa- per Publishers Associ- ation (NNPA), the trade organization represent- ing more than 230 Af- rican American-owned newspapers and media companies, count among those objecting to the measure. For further clarity, the NNPA represents the in- terest of the Black Press of America, which for 195 years, has published through slavery, Jim Crow, Civil Rights, and the modern-day era of Fake News. “The JCPA would re- quire tech platforms to carry and pay any eligi- ble news publisher for ‘access’ to content. While this may, again, seem well-intentioned at first look, upon deeper in- spection, the law defines ‘access’ so broadly it will require payment for sim- ply crawling a website or sharing a link,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. wrote in an editorial. “Similarly, while a number of conglomer- ates are scoped into the bill, true independent or small newspapers are explicitly excluded from the legislation because Department of Consumer and Business Services Small Business Ombudsman What we do: Our office provides free confidential assistance to businesses that have questions about worker’s compensation insurance. We provide information about whether you need workers’ compensation insurance, how to buy it, and how much it may cost. Workers’ compensation is a complex system and we can help you navigate the process. Common questions we receive are: Why is the premium so high? What is a classification? What is an experience modification? Our office can explain the terms and help you make sure you are paying the right premium amount. We have assisted thousands of Oregon-based businesses with issues relating to audits, classifications, experience modifications, coverage, market availability, claims, laws, and rules. For more information about worker’s compensation insurance, please contact Dave or Caitlin at (503) 378-4209 or visit our website oregon.gov/DCBS/SBO dcbs.oregon.gov the bill says that an eligi- ble publisher must earn more than $100,000 per year,” Chavis asserted. The primary problem? “The bill itself wouldn’t address the underlying problems that have news organizations struggling economically,” Jeremy Littau of Future Tense wrote. Littau further noted the bill’s structural prob- lem. “The internet is built in ways that favor free link exchange, and news organizations risk not being missed if they are booted from platforms whose business ironical- ly is built to deliver them traffic,” he wrote. “There’s no oversight or accountability for whatever money is paid out to know whether the JCPA actually works as intended.” Littau continued: “Finally, there’s the innovation problem re- lated to who is excluded. The JCPA would subsi- dize dying brands and, likely to avoid weighing in on the tiresome debate over whether bloggers are journalists, creates the $100,000 threshold that leaves behind some of our most promising news startups. The fu- ture of news can’t be about propping up strug- gling legacy players and punishing innovators.” Chavis also related that many African American and other BIPOC news outlets are independent- ly owned. Furthermore, these news outlets have de- veloped and grown their audiences because mainstream media pub- lications excluded the “ The Black Press built our own news out- lets to sup- port our own voices perspectives of minority voices. “The Black Press built our own news outlets to support our own voices. As a result, this legisla- tion would only further reinforce harmful racial exclusion trends rather than actually help small- er local publications like those in the NNPA,” Cha- vis insisted. “Similarly, recent amendments to the bill requiring non-discrim- ination would require platforms to carry and pay for hate speech and objectionable content that could harm BIPOC communities.” He said if passed, the JCPA would boost misin- formation and extremist content. News publica- tions from either side of the aisle that support extremist views will re- ceive money, and tech platforms will be re- quired to carry them on their services. “This will make it even harder for platforms to moderate harmful and false content. We know that communities like ours will suffer most,” Chavis concluded. Sen. Klobuchar did not respond to a request for comment from the Black Press. Several lawmakers in both chambers, includ- ing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Cory Book- er (D-N.J.), Rep. Al Green See NEWSPAPERS page 7 THANK YOU Wesley Frank Johnson Sr. May 11, 1955 - November 6, 2022 Proud Ground admired and appreciated the skill and dependability of Remodeling by Wesley. We enjoyed his support of our mission as well as his kindness and friendship. That is why we asked him to complete 51 remodeling projects over the past decade. We will miss you Wesley!
