Media bigwigs launch a news policy nonprofit

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Aug 24, 2023 View in browser   By Caitlin Oprysko With help from Daniel Lippman MEDIA BIGWIGS LAUNCH NEWS POLICY NONPROFIT: Several heavyweights from across the media, tech and policy ecosystems are launching a new research organization aimed at fostering dialogue about policy solutions to address mass disruption across the industry from plummeting profits, AI and more. — The Center for News, Technology & Innovation will be headed up by Craig Forman, a partner at NextNews Ventures and former president and chief executive at McClatchy, and Amy Mitchell, the former director of journalism research at the Pew Research Center. While it won’t lobby or engage in advocacy work itself, Mitchell said in an interview, the 501(c)(3) group aims to cultivate “better-informed public policy conversations” about encouraging an independent press and open internet. — Over the past few years, Mitchell said, she “had been growing increasingly concerned … over not only the lack of progress that’s been made in many of these issues, but a sense that we’re going backwards — that we are putting at real risk the future of independent press, and the public’s access to news and information.” That is in part due to the complex and rapidly evolving nature of the threats posed to the news industry and internet. — “What we need to do is pause and understand the data behind the problems, understand what the landscape is,” she said, and “then look at, how do we get to a forward-moving place?” CNTI hopes to curate and make more digestible existing research while determining what gaps exist in research across 15 priority issue areas the nonprofit has identified — as well as how to fill those gaps, and what legislation is moving globally in relation to each issue. CNTI will also hold events to convene thought leaders, including one on generative AI and journalism in the coming months. — The aim is “to hopefully be an entity that can help push the needle forward when it comes to finding feasible solutions,” Mitchell told PI, even as she warned that “CNTI does not propose to have the answers to these challenging issues, but hopes to be able to be a pathway to help us as a global society get there together.” — In addition to Forman and Mitchell, CNTI’s board includes former Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron, Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, CarePoint CEO Sangu Delle, Nexo Jornal co-founder and CEO Paula Miraglia, and Marietje Schaake, international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center. — Notably, the effort isn’t eschewing input from tech giants that have shouldered a great deal of the blame for the dire financial straits of a lot of the news industry. Google News Vice President Richard Gingras sits on CNTI’s board as well, and Google is among the nonprofit’s financial supporters, along with Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. — “One of the main goals of CNTI is to be collaborative,” Mitchell said. “To bring together people in technology, in journalism, in policy research, to have challenging conversations together.” Happy Thursday and welcome to PI. Tomorrow is the last day to get your tips in before this newsletter takes its annual late summer hiatus. What are you waiting for?: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     TARGETED VICTORY’S PUBLIC AFFAIRS CHIEF HEADS TO PHRMA: Alex Schriver is decamping from Targeted Victory, where he was head of public affairs, to join the public affairs team at PhRMA. “I joined this firm six and a half years ago as an initial hire in the newly formed corporate practice. I am incredibly proud of the team we’ve built, the clients we’ve serviced, and the firm we’ve become,” Schriver wrote in a post on X. — Schriver is the latest new face on the drugmakers’ public affairs team following a shakeup in PhRMA’s public affairs shop that began with the resignation of its top executive last year — shortly after the industry took a major loss with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act’s drug pricing provisions. — Schriver comes on as PhRMA and several of its members have ramped up their fight against that program, which allows Medicare to negotiate the price of certain drugs, taking the Biden administration to court to block the initiative. Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Schriver had served as chief of staff to then-Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.). WALL STREET BLASTS SEC PRIVATE FUNDS RULE: “The SEC on Wednesday green-lighted a sweeping slate of rules for private equity firms and hedge funds, imposing some of the strictest regulations yet on a more than $25 trillion corner of finance,” POLITICO’s Declan Harty and Sam Sutton report. — “In a 3-2 vote along party lines, the agency voted to enact new requirements and restrictions on private funds advisers to safeguard investors and give pension funds, college endowments and other institutions more clout when negotiating with some of the financial industry’s most powerful firms. The final rule is more aggressive than many Wall Street firms had hoped — and less comprehensive than some progressives and investor advocates had anticipated.” — “The rule, a pillar of SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s agenda, will usher in one of the most significant regulatory revamps ever to private market investment vehicles run by opaque investment firms that control large swaths of the global economy.” — Its “completion caps a more than year-long lobbying blitz by the private equity, hedge fund and venture capital industries to quash the SEC’s plans, setting the stage for a possible courtroom fight.” — “Industry groups like the Managed Funds Association and the American Investment Council signaled before the vote that they may sue if the SEC did not roll back significant elements of the proposal,” and in a statement following the vote MFA President and CEO Bryan Corbett made clear that litigation is not off the table. TRUMP TO FUNDRAISE FOR GIULIANI DEFENSE: “Andrew Giuliani, the son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, is turning to former President Donald Trump to raise money for a political action committee meant to help pay for his father’s growing legal fees,” CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reports. — “The Giuliani Defense PAC is having one of its first fundraising events in September at Trump’s New Jersey golf course, with the former president as a featured guest, according to the invitation, which was obtained by CNBC. Donors are being asked to give $100,000 each to the PAC to take part in the event.” — “Rudy Giuliani was indicted in Georgia along with Trump and 17 other defendants on charges of election interference,” and is out on bail after surrendering to authorities in Atlanta yesterday. The former mayor is among several of Trump’s allies involved in the case who “have seen virtually no help so far from the former president’s political operations to pay for legal fees in the cases.” — “The event on Sept. 7 will feature a roundtable discussion with Trump and Rudy Giuliani, followed by a dinner with Rudy Giuliani, according to the invitation. A person familiar with the event told CNBC that it is expected to have at least a dozen guests and raise close to $1 million. This person declined to be named in order to speak freely about private efforts to help Rudy Giuliani.” — Andrew Giuliani, a former unsuccessful candidate for governor in New York, told CNBC that in addition to the September event at Bedminster, Trump had agreed to headline a second fundraiser for Giuliani’s legal defense this winter at his Florida club Mar-a-Lago. Jobs Report — Matthew F. Ferraro is stepping down from WilmerHale to join the Biden administration as senior counselor for cybersecurity and emerging technology with the Department of Homeland Security. New Joint Fundraisers None. New PACs COMMITTEE TO ELECT TIM SCOTT DELEGATES (Super PAC) MISSISSIPPI FOR AMERICA FIRST POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (Hybrid PAC) THE PARKER PRESIDETIAL CAMPAIGN (Super PAC) Siemens Energy, Inc. PAC (PAC) New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Wright & Schulte, LLC Fbb Federal Relations: Northpoint Development Forbes-Tate: Crowley Maritime Corp. Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures, LLC: Deloitte LLP Ice Miller LLP: Authentix, Inc. Korea International Trade Association: Korea International Trade Association Sidley Austin LLP: Ninestar Corporation Thegroup Dc, LLC: Americans For Financial Reform New Lobbying Terminations None.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.       Follow us

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