The Federal Trade Commission announced late Tuesday that, although the Justice Department investigates mergers of newspapers and is responsible for evaluating Joint Operating Agreements under the 1970 Newspaper Preservation Act, the FTC will hold a hearing on competition in the chaotic news industry.
Titled "Can News Media Survive the Internet Age? Competition, Consumer Protection, and First Amendment Perspectives," the workshop, which is slated to be held Sept. 15, is intended to create a body of knowledge on the industry that will be compiled by Susan DeSanti, the head of the Office of Policy Planning.
According to the FTC, there's a need to evaluate the collection and dissemination of news, not just because newspapers are closing down in the face of increasing Internet competition, but because of predictions that television and radio too will suffer the same fate.
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement:
"Many industries have experienced transitions to new business models in response to new forms of competition on the Internet, and consumers generally have benefited in the process. But the news business may be different because of the First Amendment values at stake. Whether we get our news from ink on paper, TV, radio, laptops, or mobile devices, we need a strong news industry for our democracy to thrive. Bringing together competition, consumer protection, and First Amendment perspectives can help all of us understand how best to serve Americans' interests given the new realities affecting news organizations."
The FTC has broad authority under its consumer protection auspices to conduct and report on a range of industries.
- Cecile Kohrs Lindell in Washington
FTC press release
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