The following editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times:
Democrats positioned themselves as defenders of democracy in Tuesday’s election. They must follow through on this pledge in the final weeks of the current Congress, regardless of the midterm’s final tally.
Start by passing the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. The JCPA is needed to help sustain the local, free and independent press system that’s essential to an informed electorate and functional, lasting democracy.
Yes, that sounds highfalutin. But as shown by the midterm’s toxic politics, America and its democracy are threatened as the country loses local newspapers and the civic knowledge, engagement and community they build.
One-fourth of local newspapers failed and most survivors are hollowed-out ghosts, as 70 percent of newspaper jobs were lost over the last 15 years. Thousands of communities are left with little to no local news coverage to inform voters and hold officials accountable.
As a result, America is less united, less able to agree on facts and values, and less able to discuss and confront shared challenges. We’re more divided and more vulnerable to cons, deceit and manipulation.
The journalism crisis underlies all the other threats to democracy, including election subversion, voting restrictions and false information stoking discord and distrust in democratic institutions. They cannot be resolved without first saving the press.
This is not news to many elected officials. A strong bipartisan coalition supports passage of the JCPA, which would stabilize news outlets by enabling them to collectively bargain with dominant tech platforms. As the news business evolves online, it must be able to secure fair compensation for its content.
There is evidence that the JCPA is an elegant, market-based solution that works without requiring federal dollars: The approach was trialed and proven in Australia. More than 90 percent of news outlets there secured content agreements, preventing further closures.
In the United States, the onus is on Democratic leadership, namely Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to make sure the JCPA gets done before the lame-duck session ends.
It would be a great tragedy if the U.S. allowed its model democracy to further deteriorate, because Congress didn’t make the JCPA and an informed electorate a top priority.
Failing to support and pass this bill wouldn’t be an oversight. It would be a decision to side with two wealthy companies, Google and Facebook parent Meta, that allegedly violated antitrust law and were found to be causing harm with anti-competitive business practices.
With fascism rising on a flood of misinformation, the nation and the free world need Congress to quickly shore up the foundations of democracy. The JCPA should pass before it’s too late to make a difference.
