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Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division (which includes the Pleasanton Weekly, Livermore Vine and DanvilleSanRamon.com) and Three Valleys Community Foundation had the privilege of screening the documentary “Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink” on Sept. 6 at the Firehouse Arts Center in downtown Pleasanton.
The film detailed how hedge funds would buy distressed news organizations, further weaken them and rake in millions of dollars at the expense of a community’s source of journalism.
One hedge fund in particular, Alden Global Capital, basically destroyed the news group commonly known here as Bay Area News Group (BANG) by consolidating the Oakland Tribune, Mercury News and East Bay Times, slashing newsroom personnel and putting the Oakland Tribune building up for sale. BANG was not Alden’s first victim; by the time Alden made it to the West Coast, they had written the playbook.
After the screening, EMF East Bay division president Gina Channell Wilcox moderated a discussion that included Tim Hunt, a local journalist and former associate publisher of the Tri-Valley Herald; Rick Goldsmith, the filmmaker; and State Sen. Steve Glazer, a strong proponent of local independent journalism and author of state senate bills aimed at strengthening local, independent news organizations.
During the discussion, Glazer pointed out that, while the hedge funds were the focus of the film, what caused the distress in the industry that the “vulture capitalists” took advantage of was “ingenuity” of social media and sales platforms — specifically Google, Meta and Amazon.
He explained that these tech giants have spent 25 years extracting data from site users and, with this personal data, they are able to sell digital ads that are targeted to people based on their preferences, interests and leanings.
This is extremely profitable. According to Glazer, the three largest platforms reported profits of $142 billion — with a “b” — in 2023.
In the same 25-year timeframe, roughly a third of news outlets across the country have closed and, in California, 65% of journalists have lost their jobs.
Researchers at Medill School of Journalism recently reported, “The loss of local newspapers accelerated in 2023 to an average of 2.5 per week, leaving more than 200 counties as ‘news deserts’ and meaning that more than half of all U.S. counties now have limited access to reliable local news and information.”
Glazer frequently speaks of the connection between a strong, free press and a strong democracy, but his support goes beyond raising awareness. For example, in 2022, Glazer introduced Senate Bill 911, which would have created a public media fund for California and news organizations would have received grants to increase local news coverage.
The bill that would have provided $25 million in funding to news organizations was killed, somewhat ironically, by some of the state’s largest publishers. According to Glazer, the representatives said they were concerned about government interference in news but were probably more worried about grants being used to launch competing news sources.
Earlier this year, Glazer introduced SB 1327, which sought to impose a 7.25% tax on gross receipts from “data extraction transactions” to support journalism in California. It would mitigate the destruction Big Tech’s data extraction and ad targeting caused to the advertising model that had funded journalism successfully for decades.
Before Glazer introduced his bill, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks authored AB 886, “The California Journalism Act”, which would have big tech platforms pay “link taxes” and negotiate with publishers to share their advertising revenue.
In response to Wicks’ bill meant to bolster newsrooms and strengthen local journalism, Google reminded publishers of its power over them when it announced plans to stop linking to news sites, behavior California State Senate President Pro-Tempore Mike McGuire, a co-author of the bill, called “bullying” and an “abuse of power”.
This would have been devastating to news organizations, including ours, that depend on traffic from Google.
What this threat pointed out is the disturbing amount of control Big Tech has over distribution of news. Seemingly, at their whim, they can stop the flow of fact-based journalism.
With its deep pockets and influence, Google ultimately won with a “deal” that, for all intents and purposes, kills the legislation in exchange for paying $250 million to publishers, which is significantly less than they and other big tech platforms would have to pay if it was a percentage of advertising revenue. (Google’s online advertising business brought in more than $200 billion — with a “b” — in revenue in 2023.) Under this deal, Meta and Amazon will contribute nothing.
“Ultimately, the decision was: Do we want nothing, or something?” Wicks said about the deal in an interview with the Sacramento Bee. “From my perspective, a nearly quarter-billion-dollar framework was better than zero.”
Glazer expressed profound disappointment in the deal, saying in a statement shortly after the deal was announced that, “The hollowing out of independent news gathering and the monopoly power of these digital platforms is an existential threat to our democratic republic.”
“Social media platforms and shopping websites have used our engagement to acquire unique user data that they turn around and profit from in the selling of micro-targeted ads,” Glazer explained to us. “This data extraction and subsequent ad sales has significantly contributed to the loss of revenue to traditional media and contributed to the layoff of 65% of local reporters in recent years.”
“It is why Google and other platforms should fully mitigate this damage, as proposed in Senate Bill 1327,” he continued. “The private side deal negotiated by Google doesn’t come close to fulfilling their obligation for eroding independent news gathering and its work in supporting our democracy.”
The purpose of our screening and panel discussion was to educate the public on the state of American journalism, how it got to this point and what is at stake.
A free press is part of the foundation of our democracy. Our Founding Fathers envisioned a strong, free press to keep tabs on the branches of government, which is why the media is referred to as the “fourth estate”. They knew that an informed citizenry is key to a thriving democracy, and a strong, independent media is key to an informed citizenry.
“Local journalism has always been the heartbeat of democracy,” Glazer said. “When local journalism dies, public engagement dies. And what rushes in to fill the void? An onslaught of opinions and ‘hot takes’ often based not in honest, diligent, fact-based reporting but fake news meant to divide and polarize.”
The senator’s reference to the “existential threat to our democratic republic” is not hyperbole.
Editor’s note: If you would like to support the Pleasanton Weekly, part of the 501(c)3 Embarcadero Media Foundation, and its sister publications, Three Valleys Community Foundation has established the Partners for Local Press Fund “to help preserve local press via grantmaking to nonprofit organizations, projects and programs that support local journalism, increase civic engagement which is a cornerstone of our democracy and promote community voice by revitalizing the infrastructure of local media.” To donate, visit the fund website.
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