News outlets seek exemption on web giants
NEW YORK — News outlets are seeking permission from Congress for the right to negotiate jointly with Google and Facebook, two companies that dominate online advertising and online news traffic.
The News Media Alliance — which represents nearly 2,000 news organizations and counts Orlando Sentinel parent company Tronc among its members — said the two companies’ dominance has forced news organizations to “play by their rules on how news and information is displayed, prioritized and monetized.”
“These rules have commoditized the news and given rise to fake news, which often cannot be differentiated from real news,” the alliance said in a press release on Monday.
It won’t be easy getting a congressional antitrust exemption to negotiate as a group. But the alliance’s chief executive, David Chavern, said in an interview that trying is nothing.
The news industry has been hit with declining print readership and a loss of advertising revenue as it has moved online.
The outlets want stronger protections for intellectual property, support for subscription models and a bigger share of the online advertising market. Google and Facebook combined will account for 60 percent of the U.S. digital advertising market this year, according to the research firm eMarketer. better than doing
Campbell Brown, head of news partnerships at Facebook, said in a statement that the company is “committed to helping quality journalism thrive on Facebook. We’re making progress through our work with news publishers and have more work to do.”
For example, the company said it is testing new products to help its users discover local news on Facebook. The company also said it is working to cut down on false news and click-bait headlines in favor of “quality journalism.”