Mike Lee: Media Cartel Bill Would Benefit New York Times, Washington Post

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said during a hearing that the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) would create a big media “cartel” to benefit the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Lee, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Antitrust, delivered his opening statement voicing great concern about the JCPA. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the subcommittee chair, and Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), are leading the push on the controversial bill in the Senate.

US Senator Amy Klobuchar listens during the National Prayer Breakfast on February 7, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

The Utah conservative said that the “last thing” Congress should do to solve the media industry’s problems is to create a “cartel” that would ultimately benefit big media companies such as the New York Times and the Washington Post.

FILE – In this Jan. 28, 2016, file photo, billionaire Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos talks about the history and character of the Post during a dedication ceremony for its new headquarters in Washington. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on May 12, 2016, that Bezos was using the Post to help Amazon avoid taxes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The legislation would create an antitrust exemption, allowing media companies to collectively bargain with big tech companies such as Google and Facebook.

He said that Congress should not grant the news media an antitrust exemption because it would not fix the many problems facing the industry; he said Americans increasingly distrust establishment outlets and many outlets failed to adapt quickly to an internet model and relied too much on digital advertising instead of subscription services.

Lee argued that the “mainstream media” publications are “rife with shoddy and extraordinarily biased reporting that many consumers do not trust.”

Lee cited the following examples to back up his claim:

1. The Steele Dossier which ended up being “pure fiction” and that was funded by the Clinton Foundation, which became the basis for the Russia Collusion Hoax
2. The Washington Post‘s “defamation” of Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann
3. The Washington Post referring to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an ISIS terrorist, an “austere religious scholar”
4. The New York Times reported that Russia had placed bounties on the heads of American soldiers, which other establishment outlets “dutifully parroted”
5. Media outlets “viciously” derided Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) for suggesting that the coronavirus pandemic emerged from a lab in Wuhan, China
6. The Salt Lake Tribune called to put the unvaccinated under house arrest
7. Referring to the Black Lives Matter riots as “fiery but mostly peaceful protests”
8. Denials from establishment media outlets that critical race theory is being taught in schools

Lee charged that the establishment media is one of the leading causes of “social discord and political upheaval.”

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.