{"id":1267127,"date":"2022-02-02T23:08:08","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T04:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1267127"},"modified":"2022-02-02T23:08:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T04:08:13","slug":"senate-dems-push-media-cartel-bill-on-same-day-as-cnns-zucker-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-dems-push-media-cartel-bill-on-same-day-as-cnns-zucker-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Dems Push Media Cartel Bill on Same Day as CNN&#039;s Zucker Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenate-dems-push-media-cartel-bill-on-same-day-as-cnns-zucker-scandal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1267127&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2019\/08\/jeffzuckerspicer1-1-640x335.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"subheading\">As details emerged about the resignation of CNN president Jeff Zucker after he admitted a sexual relationship with a subordinate, democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were holding a hearing on a bill that would allow the corporate media to form a state-sanctioned cartel to protect themselves from online competition.<\/p>\n<p>If the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) passes, big media companies would be able to strike deals with Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other tech giants that would prioritize their content to the detriment of podcasters, YouTubers, Substack authors, and other forms of independent media. The hearing occurred just hours after the news of Zucker\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/news\/cnns-zucker-resigns-after-relationship-with-co-worker\/\">resignation from CNN<\/a>, primed to benefit from a potential media cartel, hit the street.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>A line in&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.govtrack.us\/congress\/bills\/117\/s673\/text\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">the bill<\/a>&nbsp;allows members of the state-sanctioned cartel to exclude any company that is not \u201csimilarly situated\u201d to them from the benefits of their negotiations with the tech giants.<\/p>\n<p>It would also exclude any journalist who does not have \u201ca dedicated professional editorial staff\u201d that publishes news content on \u201cat least a weekly basis,\u201d effectively excluding independent journalists who run small operations on Substack, YouTube, and other platforms.<\/p>\n<p>At the hearing, the lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) insisted that the antitrust carveout was necessary to protect the news media, even though, as expert witness Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center pointed out, Americans\u2019 trust in the media is at historic lows.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cCorporate media already benefits from better treatment by social media algorithms, than smaller independent outlets,\u201d said Gainor, who had a long career as a local news reporter before joining MRC. \u201cConsolidating their already enormous advantages only makes them even more powerful.&nbsp;And all this happens when Americans\u2019 trust in media is near an epic low.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another expert witness at the hearing, Harvard law fellow and former FTC deputy director for digital markets Dr. Daniel Francis, also cautioned against passing the controversial bill.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI cannot think of anything the country needs less, now or ever, than&nbsp;a national news media cartel,\u201d said Francis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCartels are the supreme evil of&nbsp;antitrust,\u201d continued Francis. \u201cThey are so reliably harmful that we extradite and imprison people who form them, they are automatically&nbsp;illegal in civil litigation with no justification allowed at law, and for decades, the justice department has had a&nbsp;flagship policy project of fighting cartels and opposing exemptions just like this one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Prior to this hearing, the JCPA had been condemned by a wide swathe of policy experts and journalists from across the political spectrum, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2021\/05\/17\/recipe-for-mischief-fcc-commissioner-president-trumps-big-tech-expert-slam-jcpa\/\">FCC commissioner Nathan Simington, communications law expert Prof. Adam Candeub<\/a>, award-winning independent journalist <a href=\"https:\/\/breitbart.com\/the-media\/2021\/03\/12\/watch-clay-travis-glenn-greenwald-attack-big-tech-minstream-media-collusion\/\">Glenn Greenwald<\/a>, and the liberal advocacy organization the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2021\/03\/antitrust-exemption-news-media-wont-take-us-back-time-big-tech\">Electronic Frontier Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has called the bill the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/04\/01\/exclusive-kevin-mccarthy-slams-establishment-media-pushed-journalism-act-antithesis-of-conservatism\/\">antithesis of conservatism.<\/a>\u201d The bill has been strongly opposed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/tech\/2022\/01\/29\/exclusive-jim-jordan-slams-senate-democrat-attempts-to-revive-media-cartel-act\/\">Rep. Jim Jordan<\/a>, and Sens. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/05\/11\/exclusive-marsha-blackburn-opposes-establishment-media-cartel-plan-will-make-it-even-easier-for-big-tech-to-censor-conservative-voices\/\">Marsha Blackburn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eff.org\/deeplinks\/2021\/03\/antitrust-exemption-news-media-wont-take-us-back-time-big-tech\">Marco Rubio<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/05\/11\/exclusive-marsha-blackburn-opposes-establishment-media-cartel-plan-will-make-it-even-easier-for-big-tech-to-censor-conservative-voices\/\">Tom Cotton<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As Senate Democrats and media lobbyists present at the hearing attempted to explain why the discredited establishment media \u2014 which already makes hundreds of millions to billions of dollars through online subscriptions \u2014 needs bailing out, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/clips\/2022\/02\/02\/cnns-camerota-on-zucker-exit-feels-wrong-two-consenting-adults-cant-have-a-private-relationship\/\">CNN hosts debated the network\u2019s latest sex scandal<\/a>, which felled company boss Jeff Zucker.<\/p>\n<p><em>New York Magazine,&nbsp;<\/em>another liberal establishment outlet that would benefit from Sen. Klobuchar\u2019s media cartel bill, admitted that Zucker\u2019s relationship with his subordinate was \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/the-media\/2022\/02\/02\/new-yorker-jeff-zuckers-relationship-with-allison-gollust-one-of-the-biggest-open-secrets-in-media\/\">one of the biggest open secrets in media<\/a>,\u201d kept hush-hush by corporate media journalists until now.<\/p>\n<p>According to reports, Zucker\u2019s relationship only came to light because of allegations made by the legal team of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/the-media\/2022\/02\/02\/report-chris-cuomo-legal-team-sounded-alarm-over-jeff-zuckers-relationship-with-subordinate\/\">former top CNN host Chris Cuomo<\/a>, who was fired from the company due to his own sex scandal.<\/p>\n<p>As this was unfolding, Dan Gainor of the Media Research Center was trying to explain to Senators that the media industry they were contemplating bailing out has never been less trusted by Americans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to Gallup,&nbsp;Americans\u2019 trust in media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly has fallen to just 36 percent,\u201d said Gainor. \u201cFor Republicans,&nbsp;that number stands at 11 percent. Why then are we bailing out corporate media, when ordinary Americans would rather find&nbsp;new sources of information?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>The New York Times<\/em> just spent $550 million in cash&nbsp;purchasing The Athletic, which according to journalist Aron Pilhofer, covers 270 plus sports teams in more than 47 local&nbsp;markets,\u201d continued Gainor. \u201cThe Times has placed itself in direct competition with every local news site for the same pool of subscribers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>The Times<\/em> already has more than 8 million paid subscribers\u2026&nbsp;So why are we helping them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Washington [DC] area used to have a thriving chain of community weeklies.&nbsp;The <em>Gazette<\/em> was founded in 1959 and grew to a 550,000 circulation in suburban Maryland. They were closed down by their owners,&nbsp;<em>The Washington Post,<\/em> in 2015. In 2021, the <em>Post<\/em> achieved record-breaking digital advertising. It\u2019s also owned by Big Tech&nbsp;billionaire Jeff Bezos. He purchased the company in 2013, two years before it killed the chain of weeklies. So why are&nbsp;we helping them?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Allum Bokhari is the senior technology correspondent at Breitbart News.&nbsp;He is the author of&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/DELETED-Techs-Battle-Movement-Election\/dp\/154605930X\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">#DELETED: Big Tech\u2019s Battle to Erase the Trump Movement and Steal The Election.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As details emerged about the resignation of CNN president Jeff Zucker after he admitted a sexual relationship with a subordinate, democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were holding a hearing &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1267127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1267127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1267127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1267127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1267127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1267127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}