Conference | Competition Policy to Ensure a Thriving Fourth Estate
At our #JournalismAndDemocracy2021 conference, “After Google & Facebook: The Future of Journalism & Democracy,” a wide array of top lawmakers, law enforcers, journalists, and policy analysts—including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison—discussed ways to strengthen journalism while keeping democracy robust. Watch below.
Part 1:
(Panel time stamps noted below)
Part 2:
(Panel time stamps noted below)
Conference Details:
How can we structure the U.S. market for news and advertising to ensure a financially independent free press at the national, regional, and local level?
Recent actions against Google and Facebook by law enforcers in Washington, individual U.S. states, and Australia, show that we can rebuild independent journalism in America and around the world.
The Open Markets Institute’s Center for Journalism & Liberty hosted this conference in cooperation with The Washington Monthly featuring more than 30 top thought leaders.
Part 1: Panel Time Stamps
0:00 - START - Welcoming remarks: Jody Brannon, director of the Center for Journalism & Liberty.
5:25 - Introduction: Barry Lynn, executive director of the Open Markets Institute.
8:50 - The Crisis of Journalism in Europe: Andrea Coscelli, director of U.K. Competition and Markets Authority, will discuss, with The Markup’s Julia Angwin, last year’s groundbreaking report on the monopolization of the advertising industry, and the CMA’s creation of a new Digital Markets Unit to address the problem.
41:30 - Techniques of Control and Exploitation: Julia Angwin will now join privacy expert Johnny Ryan, and Open Markets Institute’s Sally Hubbard will discuss how Google and Facebook maintain and exercise their power over journalists and readers.
1:27:54 - The View from Today’s Newsroom: Newspaper publishing executives from three metro dailies will discuss their fight to protect independent regional and local newsrooms, and the effects of Google and Facebook’s advertising duopoly. Penny Abernathy, a visiting professor at Medill, will converse with Danielle Coffey of the News Media Alliance, Alan Fisco of the Seattle Times, Dan Krockmalnic of the Boston Globe, and Randy Lebedoff of the Star Tribune.
2:14:44 - The View from Tomorrow’s Newsroom: Three experienced journalists will discuss the challenge of developing new outlets to cover local diverse communities without being able to rely on much digital advertising. Anne Kim of The Washington Monthly moderates this session with entrepreneurial professor Letrell Crittenden, Lauren Williams of the startup Capital B, and The Monthly’s Grace Gedye, who’s written extensively about podcasts.
2:56:52 - Keynote - Monopoly and Democracy in America: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee, will speak about America’s monopoly crisis with a focus on how it affects America’s free press.
Part 2: Panel Time Stamps
5:59 - START - The Fight Underway: Journalists and Citizens Use Anti-Monopoly Law to Protect Democracy: Panelists will take a close look at the case against Google, by 15 U.S. states and territories, and the private case against Google’s monopolization of advertising, brought by newspaper publishers from across the U.S. Open Markets Institute’s Sally Hubbard will moderate this session with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, legal analyst Dina Srinavasan, West Virginia newspaper group owner Doug Reynolds, and antitrust attorney Tim Cowen.
56:51 - The Promise and Limits of Philanthropy: Panelists will consider how foundations have helped to save publishers big and small. But the model has a number of economic and political limits. With Report for America’s Steve Waldman, Millie Tran, recently of The Texas Tribune, and local news researcher Penny Abernathy.
1:35:08 - Keynote - A Battle on Many Fronts: Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, will discuss how to stabilize America’s news industry today while taking the steps necessary to protect democracy in the age of Google and Facebook.
1:43:36 - BREAK
2:00:53 - Digital Dark Money in Journalism: Five journalists and scholars will debate whether publishers can take money from Google and Facebook and still be independent. The Washington Monthly’s Paul Glastris will introduce this conversation with Illinois professor Nikki Usher, author of the recent exposé, “Is Facebook Buying Off The New York Times?” Dan Froomkin, former hyperlocal publisher Mandy Jenkins, New York Times media critic Ben Smith, and Financial Times columnist Rana Foroohar.
2:58:28 - Building a Free Press: Protecting Democracy in the Digital Age. Panelists will discuss how to build a free press fit to save democracy – looking at the Australia model and others. Synthesizing the day’s conversation will be Australia regulator Rod Sims, New York Times media critic Ben Smith, Financial Times columnist Rana Foroohar, and Open Markets policy director Phil Longman, author of “Starving the News.”
The Speakers
Elected Officials & Keynotes
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Antitrust Subcommittee @SenAmyKlobuchar.
Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee in the House of Representatives @davidciclline.
Keith Ellison, Minnesota attorney general @keithellison.
Other Presenters and Participants
Penny Abernathy, visiting professor at Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University; author of “News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive?” @businessofnews.
Julia Angwin, editor-in-chief, The Markup @JuliaAngwin.
Danielle Coffey, senior vice president and general counsel, News Media Alliance @newsalliance.
Dr. Andrea Coscelli, chief executive, UK Competition and Markets Authority @CMAgovUK.
Tim Cowen, chair, antitrust practice, Preiskel & Co. LLP @preiskel.
Dr. Letrell Crittenden, communications professor, Thomas Jefferson University @LDeshan.
Alan Fisco, president, Seattle Times; president, America’s Newspapers @newspapersorg.
Rana Foroohar, columnist and editor, Financial Times @RanaForoohar.
Dan Froomkin, editor, Press Watch, and freelance reporter @froomkin.
Grace Gedye, editor, The Washington Monthly @GraceGedye.
Paul Glastris, editor-in-chief, The Washington Monthly @glastris.
Mandy Jenkins, former general manager, McClatchy’s Compass Experiment in Youngstown, Ohio @mjenkins.
Anne Kim, contributing editor, The Washington Monthly @Anne_S_Kim.
Dan Krockmalnic, executive vice president and general counsel, Boston Globe @krockmalnic.
Randy Lebedoff, senior vice president and general counsel, Star Tribune @StarTribune.
Doug Reynolds, managing partner, HD Media Co. LLC, publisher of a group of West Virginia newspapers, including the Huntington Herald Dispatch @heralddispatch.
Dr. Johnny Ryan, senior fellow, Irish Council for Civil Liberties; fellow, Open Markets Institute; former chief privacy officer, Brave Software @johnnyryan.
Rod Sims, chair, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission @acccgovau.
Ben Smith, media columnist, New York Times and former editor-in-chief, BuzzFeed @benyt.
Dina Srinivasan, fellow, Thurmond Arnold Project, Yale University; founder, Effidia, an adtech company whose technology was acquired by WPP @DinaSrinivasan.
Millie Tran, formerly of Texas Tribune; Center for Journalism & Liberty advisory board @millie.
Dr. Nikki Usher, professor, University of Illinois; fellow and advisory board chair, Center for Journalism & Liberty @nikkiusher.
Steve Waldman, president of Report for America, coordinator of the Rebuild Local News Coalition @stevenwaldman.
Lauren Williams, co-founder and chief executive officer, Capital B; formerly SVP and editor-in-chief, Vox @laurenwilliams.
Open Markets Institute and Center for Journalism & Liberty Staff
Dr. Jody Brannon, director, Center for Journalism & Liberty @brannonj.
Sally Hubbard, director of enforcement strategy, Open Markets Institute @Sally_Hubbard.
Phillip Longman, policy director, Open Markets Institute; and senior editor, The Washington Monthly @LongmanPhil.
Barry Lynn, executive director, Open Markets Institute @barryclynn.
Relevant Readings:
News Deserts and Ghost Newspapers: Will Local News Survive by Penny Abernathy.
“Wave of New Newspapers Sue Google and Facebook” on 125 newspapers in 11 states filing or announcing lawsuits against Google and Facebook.
Dragnet Nation by Julia Angwin.
Don’t Be Evil by Rana Foroohar.
“Is Facebook Buying Off The New York Times?” by Dan Froomkin
“Spotify, Podcasts, and The War for Your Ears” by Grace Gedye.
“Introduction: Can Journalism Be Saved?” by Paul Glastris.
Monopolies Suck by Sally Hubbard.
“Starving the News” by Phillip Longman.
News for the Rich, White, and Blue: How Place and Power Distort American Journalism and “How Facebook and Google Buy Off the Press” by Nikki Usher.
“A Replanting Strategy: Saving Local Newspapers Squeezed by Hedge Funds” and “The Coming Era of ‘Civic News’“ by Steven Waldman.
The Center for Journalism & Liberty is part of the Knight Research Network.
This event is in cooperation with The Washington Monthly, whose November/December issue focused on journalism and was sponsored by the Knight Foundation.
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