News outlets seek to negotiate with Google, Facebook

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, said the two companies’ dominance have 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 better than doing 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.

Campbell Brown, head of news partnerships at Facebook, said in a statement that the company is “committed to helping quality journalism thrive on Facebook.”