Giving $ to Terrible Companies Won’t ‘Preserve Journalism’; an Expanded Recall of Lunchmeat–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Aug. 1, 2024

Indy Digest: Aug. 1, 2024

Today’s Los Angeles Times politics newsletter—by Anita Chabria and with the subject line “What are ‘Black jobs’ anyway?”—starts off with a bit of a non-sequitur:

There’s an ad playing on my Hulu feed, disrupting my reruns of “The Rookie” (my teens have a weird obsession with Nathan Fillion), and it’s making me big mad.

It’s about California Assembly Bill 886—a measure by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, an ex-Obama staffer who represents a district that includes Berkeley. The bill, in my opinion as someone whose job seems to be in daily jeopardy, is the last great hope for the news business in California, and maybe the United States.

Basically, it forces Google and other internet platforms to share the money they make off selling advertising against the news that this paper (which supports the bill) and every other news organization produces. Instead of just stealing it.

But a trade organization representing Google and other internet companies is running a streaming spot that is Trump-level disinformation about the measure, making it seem as if companies such as this one are out to crush little guys.

“Tell lawmakers, support local journalism. Not well connected media companies. Oppose AB 886,” the ad warns.

Wuuut??? Are you kidding me? These internet companies have spent more than $1 million to kill this bill. The Times, like other newspapers, has laid off hundreds.

So here’s my PSA: This ad is like deep-fried butter — looks good, but swallow that crunchy goop and you’ll be full of regret.

I have to respectfully disagree with much of what Anita Chabria writes here. I am not a fan of AB 886, for two primary reasons:

• Most of the owners of California’s largest newspapers are terrible.

• Big tech does not deserve all the blame for newspapers’ woes.

Before I go on, some disclosures: The Google News Initiative (GNI) funded a program, called Transformation Tech, that is bringing $20,000 to the Independent and $20,000 to our sister newspaper in Reno, as well as 238 other members of AAN Publishers, the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) and the National Newspaper Publishers Association/Black Press of America. Each participating publication works with a coach to develop a digital revenue transformation plan, in an effort to boost the publication’s digital products and, as a result, the publication’s digital revenue streams. That funding is what allowed the Independent to start our new 11 Days a Week newsletter more than five months ago, among other initiatives.

GNI is also funding a sustainability audit program through the Local Independent Online News publishers (LION), and the Independent’s sister paper is set to receive $20,000 from that program soon.

Also: I am currently the president of the AAN Publishers board of directors. Because of that, and because I publish two small papers that would be affected by AB 886 and another California bill that would make tech companies pay publishers, Senate Bill 1327, I have been involved in a LOT of discussions about these bills—with everyone from our Google News Initiative reps to the lobbyist for the California News Publishers Association (one of the driving forces in favor of AB 886) to members of the Rebuild Local News coalition. Some of my fellow AAN publishers are big fans of AB 886, while I am not—so I need to be clear that what I write here is my position, and not that of AAN.

Got all that? Apologies for the rambling disclosures here, but transparency and context are important.

Now, back to the issue at hand, and the first reason I am not a fan of AB 886: Most of the owners of California’s largest newspapers are terrible.

I have to give Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, the CNPA and others credit for listening to the concerns that a lot of smaller publishers have expressed since I wrote about AB 886 more than a year ago. It’s a better bill now than it was, and the Independent would benefit financially from it (although we could lose traffic if Google and Meta stop allowing links to news in California—something they’ve threatened to do). However, the vast, vast majority of the money would go to terrible companies like Gannett (the parent company of The Desert Sun), the Alden Global Capital hedge fund (owner of the dailies in San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange County, San Jose and many others), the Chatham Asset Management hedge fund (owner of the dailies in Sacramento, Fresno, Modesto and others) and so on.

AB 886, in its current form, does include a requirement that larger publishers “spend at least 70 percent of funds received pursuant to this title on news journalists and support staff employed by the digital journalism provider.” For this reason, the journalists’ unions in California support AB 886. However, “support staff” is defined as people doing “nonexecutive functions, including payroll, human resources, fundraising and grant support, advertising and sales, community events and partnerships, technical support, sanitation, and security.” In other words, this 70 percent could fund anyone who could possibly work at a newspaper, more or less.

It’s naive to think that companies like Gannett, Alden and Chatham would not find accounting tricks and other ways to use most to all of that 70 percent on, say, executive bonuses or debt service or payouts to investors. These companies have proven repeatedly that they care a LOT about profits and little to nothing about actual journalism.

Now for my second reason: Big tech does not deserve all the blame for newspapers’ woes. It’s easy to say Google and Meta “steal” journalism, but do they? I don’t consider linking to news stories to be theft (although I most definitely do consider it theft to use news stories in AI databases, which is a growing concern). I also know that while Google and Facebook were developing and creating innovative products around which to sell advertising, the aforementioned bad large newspaper companies and their precursors were worried more about maintaining huge profit margins than investing in their products.

As for what I’d like to see happen, I’ll quote from an AAN Publishers statement I helped craft earlier this year: “The best solution is one that is agreed upon by as many involved parties as possible. Google has shown a willingness to compromise and pay more to California news operations than it is now. If Meta and Google were to indeed to eliminate news links in the state, it would be a major blow to small publishers. Ask smaller Canadian publishers whose web traffic was devastated by Meta’s elimination of news from its platforms there.”

Big tech can have a role in helping fund journalism in California. And when I say fund journalism, I literally mean just that—fund journalism, via programs like the aforementioned Transformation Tech program that’s helped the Independent, and perhaps by doing something like expanding or extending the California Local News Fellowship program (which has also helped the Independent).

But giving checks to Gannett, Alden and Chatham, with easily manipulated strings? That’s NOT funding journalism.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Our friends at the Palm Springs Post report that the financial oddities involving government money going to Queer Works extend beyond the city of Palm Springs’ pilot universal basic income program: “When Riverside County approved more than $1.6 million in funding over the course of 15 months starting in June 2021 for Queer Works, what was then a fledgling non-profit organization, it thought the funds would go toward street outreach for unhoused people and rental assistance for victims of domestic violence. However, after staff began to notice what were described as ‘discrepancies in the invoices and documentation’ it received from the CEO of the organization, Jacob Rostovsky, Riverside County Director of Communications Brooke Federico confirmed Wednesday that the matter was turned over to the Auditor Controller’s Office, which then referred the situation to county attorneys. Eventually, the concerns found their way to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, which is now investigating them, just as it’s doing with similar concerns raised in Palm Springs.”

• Today’s recall news involves … a LOT of lunchmeat. Here’s an update on that Boar’s Head recall, via CBS News: “Another 3,500 tons of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold under the Boar’s Head and Old Country brands have been added to the initial recall, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. This is in addition to approximately 103 tons of Boar’s Head products that were recalled last week. The recall now includes a total of 71 products that were produced between May 10 and July 29, the USDA said. The products have sell-by dates ranging from July 29 to Oct. 17. … As of the latest numbers Tuesday, the listeria outbreak was to blame for sickening at least 34 people across 13 states, two of whom had died, health officials said. The USDA said the recalled products were shipped nationwide and some were exported to Mexico, the Cayman Islands, the Dominican Republic and Panama. They were shipped to retailers with the establishment number ‘EST. 12612’ or ‘P-12612’ inside the USDA mark of inspection on the product labels.”

• And … potentially, a *LOT* of automobiles. The Associated Press explains: “U.S. auto safety regulators say they stand by a conclusion that more than 50 million air bag inflators are dangerous and should not be in use, taking another step toward a massive recall. The decision Wednesday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration involves inflators made by ARC Automotive Inc. in Tennessee and another parts manufacturer. It comes despite opposition from automakers. The inflators in about 49 million vehicles from 13 manufacturers can explode and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. The agency has said the inflators are responsible for at least seven injuries and two deaths in the United States and Canada since 2009.” Stay tuned!

• From “the anti-vax movement is leading to terrible things” file comes this Los Angeles Times piece: “A traveler infected with measles flew from London to Los Angeles International Airport before traveling to Orange County this month, potentially exposing the public to the highly infectious disease, health officials said Wednesday. The person arrived at the Tom Bradley International Terminal B, Gate 202, on Norse Atlantic Airways flight Z0711 at 2:18 p.m. Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Officials caution that individuals who were inside the LAX terminal from about 2:30 to 4 p.m. Friday may be at risk of developing measles. It is not clear how many people were potentially exposed. … The sick traveler also visited several locations in Orange County. … Most Americans are vaccinated against measles in early childhood, though the rate among California children has declined in recent years, prompting concerns that the virus could circulate more widely. Measles cases are on the rise across the country.”

• Also from the Los Angeles Times: Economists crunched the numbers, and they determined that the surge in migrants has caused the problems of … a better economy and more tax revenue? Yep. The details: “The surge of international migrants since 2021—including refugees, asylum-seekers and others entering legally and illegally—has lifted the U.S. and California economies by filling otherwise vacant jobs, helping to keep job creation strong, growing businesses and pumping millions of tax dollars into state, local and federal coffers. There are, of course, short-term public costs associated with acclimating so many new arrivals, plus government expenditures on education and health services for immigrants and their families, along with the political and social challenges. Many agree the current immigration system is flawed and chaotic. But from a budgetary perspective, the additional federal spending on immigrants is projected to pale next to the increase in revenues from the millions more people working, paying taxes and buying goods and services, according to the Congressional Budget Office. And more than a few economists say that, by easing the shortage of American workers as the U.S. population grows older and birth rates decline—particularly in California—immigrants have played a large and positive role in maintaining a healthy, growing economy.”

• And finally … Wired magazine reports that Democrats seem to finally have learned a lesson regarding social-media usage: “Not even two weeks ago, J.D. Vance promised to boost the campaign’s funding and deliver a hokey, small-town family man who could speak to voters in rural America. Instead, the entire Democratic Party apparatus has taken to calling him weird. Digital strategists, and the entire internet, are saying it’s about damn time. …. To me, it now feels like Democrats took a crash course in shitposting and have nearly mastered it. They’re acknowledging the grassroots support, and interacting with it in a way that shows they truly, and perhaps finally, understand the social media landscape in 2024.”

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