The leader of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is applauding the passage of a bipartisan journalism bill in a U.S. Senate committee. It would allow news outlets and broadcasters to negotiate distribution terms with various social media platforms.
Speaking on Thursday’s successful vote of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act in the Senate Judiciary Committee, NAB President Curtis Legeyt was effusive in his praise.
“In today’s media landscape, local news outlets are at the mercy of a handful of Big Tech gatekeepers that dictate the terms by which their content appears online,” Legeyt said. “This legislation would level the playing field by enabling fair negotiations between news publishers and dominant digital platforms for the market value of their local content.
“NAB thanks Senators Klobuchar and Kennedy for their leadership on this important legislation, and Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley and all of the bill’s supporters for voting to advance this bill to the Senate floor. Additionally, we appreciate the constructive engagement of Senators Cruz and Padilla who entered the markup with substantive legislative concerns, but worked to address them through the amendment process in a way that allowed the bill to move forward,” Legeyt added.
The bill now goes to the full Senate for a vote.
