The California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA) Will Hurt African American and Other Minority Owned Newspapers

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. | NNPA (NNPA) – California state legislators are pushing legislation that would enrich huge legacy media corporations at the expense of independent, minority-owned newspapers who serve their individual communities. The bill, known as the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), claims to rescue local journalism when in reality it would make it harder for community newspapers to do what they do best – keep citizens engaged and informed with the news that matters to them. As the President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which represents 30 California publications that engage the interests of the more than 2,237,000 Black Americans in the state, I agree there’s more work to do to shore up the local news organizations and support community journalists. It’s no secret that these businesses face many challenges, especially as the way readers are consuming news is evolving, and we need an all-in effort to secure a more sustainable future for news. Where CJPA falls short is its provision requiring online platforms to pay news publishers for linking to or hosting news content. This mandate creates numerous unintended consequences that would stifle the ability of minority-owned publications to deliver news and...