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This week, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) introduced the Community News and Small Business Support Act (H.R.4756) to the U.S. House of Representatives with co-sponsor Suzan DelBene (D-WA). At its core, the bill lays out a five-year plan to provide payroll tax credits to local/community news outlets, expressly to hire and retain local news reporters across the country. Small businesses (with fewer than 50 employees) that advertise in local newspapers, digital news sites, on local radio or with local TV stations are also eligible for tax credits.

A great new bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to strengthen local news — important not just for its substance but its champion. The Community News and Small Business Support Act (HR 4756) attempts to address a horrifying phenomenon: local news is disappearing from thousands of communities across the country. Two newspapers are closing each week, on average. There’s been a 57% drop in newsroom employees since 2004. Thousands of towns have no local news source or “ghost newspapers” barely covering the area.
In this episode of "E&P Reports," we look at the last few weeks in the life of Canadian news publishing through the eyes of Paul Deegan, president and CEO of the country’s largest industry trade organization, News Media Canada. Deegan unpacks the similarities and differences between Canada and the U.S. in national advocacy of Big Tech compensation legislation. He also discusses the battles that are now going on between Google /Facebook and the Canadian government as the digital platforms threaten to remove news content within the country, and Ottawa fights back by pulling ad dollars from the platforms.
Danielle Coffey’s first few weeks leading the News/Media Alliance (NMA) were anything but "business as usual." In her first 25 days as CEO, she and her team are addressing some of the most critical issues and advocacy facing news media's future, including Gannett’s recent antitrust filing against Google; Canada's final passage of the their Journalism Compensation Bill and how this may impact the U.S. Congress passing similar legislation.
In this episode of “E&P Reports,” we go one-on-one with National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)’s general counsel, Mickey Osterreicher, to gain some advice on how both the news industry and the nation's law enforcement can work better together to respect the 1st Amendment, while each goes about their tough jobs during times of crime and crises. We also chat with him about his perspectives on helping define who a journalist is, especially now, as so many citizens are recording news on their personal devices.
Latest Industry News

Nielsen says a federal appeals court invented a new way to sue over pricing, and it wants the Supreme Court to shut it down. The company has asked the justices to review what it calls an “egregiously wrong” Second Circuit ruling that kept an antitrust injunction in place over its dealings with Cumulus Media.

Paramount has reached a settlement with a group of state attorneys general, according to people familiar with the matter, an agreement that clears the way for an $81 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery poised to reshape Hollywood.
Finding that divestiture is neither realistic nor needed, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema wrote that behavioral remedies will be sufficient to “effectively pry open to competition” the ad tech markets.
In a long-shot move, two Republican attorneys general are hoping the Supreme Court will intervene to stop the antitrust lawsuit brought by 12 Democratic state AGs seeking to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction won by Cumulus Media against Nielsen, agreeing with a lower court that the ratings giant likely violated antitrust law by leveraging an alleged monopoly over national radio data to pressure broadcasters into buying local data they didn’t want.
Justice Department officials met with broadcast-television station operators earlier this week as part of its antitrust investigation into the sports-media marketplace, according to people familiar with the matter.
One of the most consequential legal battles in recent radio history is now on ice, and when, or if, it ever resumes is far from certain. A federal judge has stayed the entire Cumulus Media antitrust lawsuit against Nielsen following Cumulus’ filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
By entering into negotiations with Ottawa, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has tacitly conceded that it needs news content and that it is valuable for Meta. You might think that, having conceded this, Meta would do what normal companies do and pay for this vital input to its business.
The chairman of the Senate’s antitrust subcommittee is raising concerns over Netflix’s proposed acquisition of the Warner Bros. movie-and-television studios and HBO Max streaming service. 
Related Resources & Documents

Information on the Journalism Competition & Preservation Act (JCPA), which would allow news publishers to collectively negotiate with the tech platforms for fair compensation for use of their content.

The Community News & Small Business Support Act delivers on this promise with content-neutral tax credits, sunsetting in five years, for (1) hometown news organizations to employ community-based local journalists and (2) small businesses for marketing themselves with their local media organizations. National news outlets are not eligible for these tax credits. Find out more about the Community News & Small Business Act here.

Rebuild Local News helped develop and strongly supports the Community News and Small Business Support Act (H.R. 4765), introduced by Reps. Claudia Tenney, a Republican from New York, and Suzan DelBene, a Democrat from Washington. Here are numerous resource links and information about this important legislation.

From investigative reports to breaking news and weather coverage, broadcasters invest significant resources to keep Americans informed. Local radio and TV stations provide a lifeline for our communities, but the dominance of Big Tech platforms is threatening the future of local journalism. The NAB is providing news and resources to help you support this important advocacy.

The actual text of S. 1094, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act of 2023 filed by Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN] on March 30, 2023. On June 15th, 2023 her Committee on the Judiciary, ordered that S. 1094 was to be "reported without amendment favorably."

In January of 2023 the U.S. Department of Justice issued this online press release, with links to related resources about their antitrust suit against Google for monopolizing multiple digital advertising technology products in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act.

As of April 2023, nine additional states joined the U.S. justice department’s suit against google for monopolizing digital advertising technologies, in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The Antitrust Division and the state Attorneys General filed this amended complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Canada's largest industry association: News Media Canada, posts ongoing content related to the recent passage of Senate Bill C-18, a law requiring Google and Meta to pay media outlets for news content that they share or otherwise repurpose on their platforms.

Gannett Inc, the largest newspaper publisher by total circulation in the country has sued Google over allegations that the company is violating antitrust law in controlling tools used to buy and sell ads. This is a copy of the actual complaint filed.

In 2021 antitrust litigation against Google was filed in the state of Texas by over 200 U.S. newspaper publishing companies. One of the major law firms involved in the case produced this extensive FAQ document about the lawsuit.

More Big Tech Compensation/ Antitrust Industry News

Google’s online advertising practices violate antitrust laws, E.U. says

European Union regulators filed new antitrust charges against Google, which could lead to fines and orders for the company to change its business practices.

How to Stop Hedge Funds from Devastating Local News

With Alden Global Capital’s recent acquisition of the Tribune Publishing newspaper chain, the country has reached a troubling milestone: half of the daily newspaper circulation in America is now owned by hedge funds. This is a real threat to democracy because hedge funds and private equity firms have a track record of cutting the reporting staff of local newsrooms to increase profits.

From Antitrust to Zoom, Virtual is a Mainstay in 2021

In 2020, digital was a double-edged sword. It brought us closer together as in-person meetings and events moved online during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it divided us even more as misinformation and hate speech circulated dangerously on various social media platforms.

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For a news publisher serving readers where Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin meet, regional coverage means following developments across all three states. As TH Media plans for a future beyond its longtime Associated Press relationship, it is learning how The Center Square can help fill those coverage needs.
Amsterdam News is expanding its partnership with Column to strengthen its legal notice operations, create more capacity for growth, and gain access to new high-volume notice business from the large organizations in Column’s Automated Placement network placing across New York.
As AI changes how consumers find and choose local businesses, publishers have an opportunity to help advertisers remain visible. Duda provides the technology and insights publishers need to improve discoverability, measure business results and deliver those services at scale. The result can be stronger advertiser relationships and new recurring revenue.
A lawsuit can threaten a newsroom long before a court decides who is right. Holger Roonemaa, head of the investigative and fact-checking desk at Delfi Estonia, says an investigation into a political donor’s influence led to a claim seeking more than €400,000 against the publisher and its reporter. Reporters Shield covered the newsroom’s legal defense fees, helping preserve resources for further reporting. Delfi won in the first court instance, according to Roonemaa, but the appeal remains pending and the investigation remains online.
A newsroom can win a lawsuit and still be destroyed by it. Years of legal bills, missed deadlines and relentless anxiety can accomplish what an unfavorable verdict never could: silencing journalists and frightening others away from the story. For a small publisher without in-house counsel or deep financial reserves, one legal threat can place the entire organization at risk. International media-freedom attorney Flutura Kusari warns that waiting until a demand letter arrives to build a defense may already be too late.
The Villages Media Group has chosen ProImage’s NewsWayX to streamline its production workflow and address long-standing challenges. The installation of NewsWayX, a cloud-based workflow management solution, has enabled the company to achieve greater flexibility, efficiency and accuracy in the printing processes.
D-R Media and Investments of Venice, Florida, has selected SCS’s Community Advertising System to update and enhance its advertising and production workflows. By implementing CAS, D-R Media will benefit from a unified, organization-wide solution that supports display, classified and digital advertising operations, as well as invoicing, accounts receivable and customer account management.
As shrinking newsroom staffs continue leaving major gaps in statehouse and government accountability coverage, publishers across the country are searching for ways to preserve essential journalism without adding significant overhead. Increasingly, many are turning to collaborative reporting models and syndicated newsroom partnerships designed to supplement local coverage while allowing already-stretched staffs to stay focused on their communities. Among the organizations expanding rapidly into that space is The Center Square, a nonprofit newswire that distributes state and national reporting to more than 1,350 media partners nationwide.
Richner Communications, Inc., based in Garden City, New York, has selected SCS’s Community Advertising System to modernize and streamline its advertising, production and customer service workflows.
When Dublin Inquirer publishes a sensitive accountability story, the challenge isn’t just reporting the facts. It’s deciding whether a small, seven-person newsroom can afford the legal risks that sometimes come with telling the public what it needs to know. For editor and co-founder Sam Tranum and deputy editor Lois Kapila, those decisions once came down to late-night conversations and educated guesswork. Today, the independent Dublin newsroom relies on Reporters Shield’s Legal Risk Assessment service to help identify potential legal vulnerabilities before publication—allowing journalists to move forward with greater confidence while keeping important stories alive.
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