Eighteen international and Americas media associations today called, through a public statement, for a “fair and reasonable” remuneration for the publication of journalistic content on digital platforms.
The statement “Media of the Americas Call for the Defense of the Values of Professional Journalism in the Digital Ecosystem” is signed by 18 international and national associations. These institutions comprise more than 40 thousand media from Canada, United States, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
The document stresses, “The sustainability of journalism is at risk.” Although ” the media have more significant audiences than ever before (…) intermediaries that account for more than 80% of the world’s digital advertising now absorb the resources used to finance professional journalism”, it adds.
Regarding the market position of digital platforms, the associations propose “coherent approaches at a global level to enforce a right that is based on copyright and antitrust regulations.” But, it adds, “It is also essential to avoid abusive practices in the digital advertising market.”
The statement warns that the economic crisis, exacerbated by the pandemic, is creating “information deserts” because of the closure of media in many communities, a figure that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Gutiérrez, defined as “worrying media extinction.”
The declaration values initiatives by Google and Facebook to pay the media in some countries for their content. However, it considers that “these programs do not constitute a proper and comprehensive response. The industry needs to be compensated for the disproportions and restore some balance to the ecosystem.”
In addition to payment for content and advertising concentration, the associations pay special attention to algorithms, whose opacity and discretionally affect the production and distribution of content.
The associations agreed to ask digital platforms to accelerate their pay-for-content and media support programs in working meetings. In addition, they request that these programs be more inclusive, benefiting both more prominent publications and those that provide coverage to small communities and need to remain incorporated into democratic life.
The signatory organizations are Inter American Press Association (IAPA), World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), Iberoamerican Telecommunications Organization (OTI), Grupo de Diarios América (GDA), International Association of Broadcasting (IAB), News Media Canada (NMC, Canada), News Media Alliance (NMA, USA), Media AllianceMx (Mexico), Honduran Media Association (AMC, Honduras), Media Association of Jamaica (MAJ, Jamaica), Dominican Society of Newspapers (SDD, Dominican Republic), Information Media Association (AMI, Colombia), Ecuadorian Association of Newspaper Editors (AEDEP, Ecuador), Peruvian Press Council (CPP, Peru), National Association of Newspapers (ANJ, Brazil), National Press Association (ANP, Bolivia), National Press Association (ANP, Chile), and Association of Argentine Journalistic Entities (ADEPA, Argentina).
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