US House panel debates giving local news outlets ‘lifeline’ in ad fight

Washington: Bipartisan US efforts to give news outlets new tools to collectively negotiate with large tech firms collecting the bulk online advertising revenue won support on Tuesday at a US House Committee hearing on the fate of local journalism.

US newspapers have cut thousands of jobs as the industry’s ad revenue has fallen 65% to $16.4 billion since 2005, while companies like Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc have seen a dramatic jump in online ad revenue.