Progress in the face of the digital revolution and news evolution

OPINION – Over the past 20 years, we’ve watched as the news industry has struggled to redefine itself and survive in the digital age. Subscriber rates have fallen for office and home delivery, classified ads disappeared completely from most papers, new forms of digital advertising brought competition for marketing dollars, and ownership of newspapers has consolidated between a few large companies and many smaller community publications.

In a legislative hearing I chaired last year, newspaper executives, media experts, and journalists testified that the economics of running a newspaper have changed radically and that something was needed to help transition the industry into the digital age.

Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) offered a lifeline to this dilemma via her Assembly Bill 886 which offered a platform of “usage fees” between tech companies and newspapers. Assemblymember Wicks made impactful arguments that AB 886 would help newspapers make the changes necessary to continue their vital role in holding government and institutions accountable, informing the public about important events, and publishing stories that bring communities together. A separate attempt to navigate these waters was also introduced this year by a colleague of mine, Senator Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) in the form of Senate Bill 1327.

Last week, in the final days of this Legislative Session, Assemblymember Wicks was able to craft a compromise solution to that will help to provide the newspaper industry with some immediate financial relief. Some have suggested that this deal pales in comparison to the relief proposed in these measures. However, with their proposed “usage fees” on digital platforms that carry news content, these bills faced big challenges.

First, copyright laws in the US allow for the fair use of content. As Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I can attest that any legislative solution that requires payment for displaying snippets of content would be challenged in court and litigated for many years.

Second, digital platforms link viewers to content, providing worthy traffic to publishers. Faced with new, significant costs for linking the news content, those platforms could simply stop carrying the content, as Meta recently did in Canada. If that happened in CA, the result would be disastrous for newspapers, particularly small community newspapers, and the public alike.

Third, there are real issues about how to ensure that community newspapers not only survive, but thrive within the framework of AB 886. We have an obligation to ensure access to journalism at all levels – not just large national news conglomerates.

Fourth, AB 886 relied on an arbitration mechanism that forced parties to negotiate payments for content. That approach has been tried before in both Canada and Australia. Ultimately, those countries relied on private agreements between the news industry and the platforms as an alternative – which is exactly where this most recent agreement landed.

While not a panacea for all that affects newspapers, the compromise which consists of cash infusion of approximately $100 million next year and $250 million over the subsequent 5 years, will help newspapers transition to changing models of news consumption.

All of that being said, financial assistance by itself is no solution. The newspaper and journalism industry needs to evolve its product to an audience that wants to get information in a digital format, delivered immediately, and stored so that it can be found at a later date. Going forward, the industry must pursue a proactive and intentional course to evolve through these meaningful challenges encountered at the intersection of journalism and technology. Assemblymember Wicks and I are committed to helping with that transition (Senator Glazer is unfortunately retiring).

Good policymaking is not just about legislation. The democratic process works better when legislators can work together and trust each other to develop positive outcomes for the public. This agreement gets money to publishers quickly and ensures technological support and collaboration from key digital platforms over the next 5 years. Perhaps most importantly, however, this debates, discussions, and negotiation tables formed over the past two years have created the relationships and laid the groundwork for a cooperative approach to the future.

There’s hard work ahead. The public needs a strong and sustainable news industry, and we are prepared to see that through in the coming years.

Senator Thomas J. Umberg represents the 34th Senate District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, Long Beach, Orange, Placentia, Santa Ana, and East and South Whittier.