PD Editorial: California can help democracy by helping newspapers

When the United States fails to act on critical challenges, California often goes it alone. The state is a national leader combating climate change, providing sanctuary for migrants, preserving environmental treasures and protecting abortion rights. State lawmakers should take the lead again by passing a bill to support the local free press.

Congress stubbornly refuses to pass federal legislation to help local news outlets survive and thrive. Assembly Bill 886, the California Journalism Preservation Act, would force Big Tech companies to pay fair compensation to news organizations off of whose content they profit.

The likes of Google and Facebook co-opt news content produced by local journalists. They aggregate the news and attract users who see not just headlines but profitable advertising. News sources profit only if someone clicks through. Even then, Google and Facebook sell ads on the news sites, so the companies make money either way.

AB 886 would force the big online advertising companies to share the wealth. Introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, a Democrat from Oakland, the bill would require them to pay a “journalism usage fee” for news content they now exploit for free. The bill would require news publishers to spend most of that money on hiring journalists.

A federal bill with a similar name has languished in Congress for a few years. It would allow news publishers to work together to negotiate compensation with big digital advertisers.

These are dire times for the local free press. Since 2004, at least a quarter of California newspapers have closed. Nationally, newspaper revenue is down about half, and newspapers employ less than half as many journalists as they did 15 years ago.

Even among the survivors, things have gotten bad. The Salinas Californian and Mt. Shasta News no longer employ full-time reporters. They run wire stories and use an occasional freelancer.

When newspapers close or no longer can afford local reporters, communities lose a linchpin of democracy. Without reporters to attend government meetings, talk to sources and hold officials accountable, there’s no one left to keep voters informed. No one, at least, unless you count a lone neighbor with a grudge who tweets about how terrible the city council is.

News deserts form. Residents have no coverage of local government, high school sports, community events and everything else that builds engagement and connections between people.

America’s founders knew a free press was critical. That’s why they enshrined it in the First Amendment.

Newspapers and other news outlets aren’t without some blame. They were slow to evolve as digital media overtook print and broadcast. The industry also has seen consolidation under corporate and hedge fund owners more interested in profits than serving communities and democracy.

But even if they’d been nimble, it’s unlikely news organizations would have fared well against behemoths that dominate the market and can squeeze profits out of other people’s work.

Both Google and Facebook are based in California. If their home-state lawmakers conclude that they should compensate the news organizations whose work they have exploited for years, it will send a powerful message that they should do the same across the nation.

You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.