Aiden Buzzetti: Broadcast Innovation is the Key to Balanced News

When’s the last time you picked up a newspaper? 

If your answer is “never,” like mine, then you might not remember a time when local journalism was primarily localized and (at least sometimes) tried to resonate with the people it purported to represent. Every city—not just the big ones, and even most towns—featured at least one paper. Many even had two or three.

However, it is no secret that the rise of Big Tech over the last two decades has led to the utter collapse of this once thriving industry. And be sure, this collapse is not a quiet one. The decimation of local newspapers as a source of independent local news has had (at least) two negative effects.

Media power is more concentrated than ever, and the Big Tech companies and national networks know that. It means that they have an outsized role in determining which stories are worth covering and which are not. Sometimes a human is not even involved in the decision-making: if the algorithm determines a person or topic is not worthy of being seen, it simply gets buried. Consequently, journalists and other creators are stuck in a loop of accommodating a hostile algorithm. It damages the quality of their work in the process, rewarding conformity and squeezing out local particularity.

This is because, ultimately, the realignment of power around Big Tech companies has also nationalized more of the news Americans consume. Instead of hearing critical stories about small-town corruption, potentially in their own backyard, Americans are inundated with news from Manhattan or Silicon Valley that might never affect them.

In a world like this, local broadcasters truly are the last hope for Americans seeking balanced, objective journalism that resonates in their communities. However, producing local news is weighed down by numerous problems of its own. First of all, it’s expensive to produce. But even beyond the hefty price tag, a more pernicious reason truly undergirds the issue. Big Tech companies have leveraged unbalanced and outdated regulations to gain an unfair advantage in the race for eyeballs and advertisers.

As Justice Samuel Alito wrote two years ago in Murthy v. Missouri, “Social media have become a leading source of news for many Americans, and with the decline of other media, their importance may grow.” 

The same tech predators that destroyed the newspaper industry are now seeking to grow that importance at the expense of broadcasting. They achieve this by using broadcaster content without paying for it, aiming to control advertising dollars and the flow of information across the country.

Without local broadcasters, Americans will be left getting their news from Big Tech and Big Media gatekeepers who couldn't care less about what is happening in your children’s schools, your town’s council, or your businesses. Luckily, a new and innovative tool could make a significant difference for broadcasters.

NextGen TV is a terrestrial broadcast technology that levels the playing field for local television broadcasters and viewers seeking independent news by enabling them to innovate in their products. It will allow broadcasters to offer more vivid visuals, immersive audio, and more interactive features and apps that viewers have come to expect in the smartphone age. 

The technology also allows broadcasters to continue transmitting television programming while simultaneously using their existing infrastructure to send data over the air. For example, this tool can be used to enhance streaming quality for major sporting events or implement software updates.

NextGen TV’s brilliance lies in its ability to enable broadcasters to develop new business models and explore uncharted avenues in the digital age to support their industry. With no end in sight to Big Tech’s unchecked predation on advertising revenue, developing diverse revenue streams with the help of new technology will empower independent broadcasters to continue investing in stories that directly affect local communities and reflect those communities’ perspectives—rather than solely the perspective of the coasts.

Right now, broadcasters are obligated to simulcast using both old and NextGen technologies, increasing costs. But the Federal Communications Commission can fix this by setting a clear timeline for the transition to NextGen: 2028 for stations in the largest markets and 2030 for the remaining stations. Broadcasters need these deadlines to ensure that consumers and the industry are prepared to fully benefit from the innovation and service improvements the new technology allows. 

Fortunately, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has consistently been a leader on NextGen and has been discussing the expanded business opportunities for broadcasters since 2020. The FCC has also scheduled a vote to seek comments on proposals to expedite the transition to NextGen at the end of this month. With his continued leadership, broadcasters will be better positioned to compete with Big Tech, preserve independent and balanced journalism, and better serve Americans.

So let’s move forward. The longer we wait, the easier it will be for Big Tech to kill one of the last remaining sources of local independent journalism. We don’t have a moment to lose.

Aiden Buzzetti is the President of the Bull Moose Project. As President of the Bull Moose Project, Aiden has advocated for policies that secure a dominant future for the United States in the technology, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors, and is based in Washington D.C. This Expert Opinion is exclusive to Broadband Breakfast.

Broadband Breakfast accepts commentary from informed observers of the broadband scene. Please send pieces to commentary@breakfast.media. The views expressed in Expert Opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the views of Broadband Breakfast and Breakfast Media LLC.