VOA慢速英语2021 美国议员提出议案帮助新闻媒体（在线收听）

U.S. lawmakers from both major political parties are supporting legislation that makes it easier for media companies to negotiate deals with internet companies.

来自美国两党的国会议员都支持立法，使媒体公司更容易与互联网公司进行协议谈判。

The bill is aimed at making it easier for news organizations to negotiate collectively with companies like Google and Facebook.

该议案旨在使新闻机构更容易与谷歌和脸书等公司进行集体谈判。

Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative David Cicilline of the Democratic Party are introducing the legislation. Senator John Kennedy and Representative Ken Buck, both Republicans, are co-sponsors.

来自民主党的参议员艾米·克洛布查尔和众议员大卫·西西林提出了该议案。来自共和党的参议员约翰·肯尼迪和众议员肯·巴克是共同议案人。

The bill comes after Facebook had a legal fight with Australia over how much money publishers should make from their social media pages. During the dispute, Facebook blocked Australian news pages and only permitted their return after the government compromised. Facebook also promised a $1 billion investment in the news industry.

该议案是在脸书与澳大利亚就出版商应该从其社交媒体页面赚到多少钱的法律诉讼之后提出来的。在争议期间，脸书封锁了澳大利亚新闻页面，在澳大利亚政府妥协之后才批准这些页面的回归。脸书还承诺在新闻行业投资10亿美元。

The measure would permit print, broadcast or digital news organizations to work together to gain better deals from Facebook and Google during a period of time. During that time, they would not be subject to antitrust laws meant to prevent big companies from unfairly influencing or controlling markets. The bill would require the negotiations to aid news publishers generally rather than a small number of companies.

这一举措将允许出版、广播或数字新闻机构共同努力，在一段时间内从脸书和谷歌那里获得更好的协议。在此期间，它们将不受制于旨在防止大公司不公平地影响或控制市场的反托拉斯法。该议案将要求谈判是为新闻出版商提供帮助，而不是为少数公司提供帮助。

Klobuchar said she was hopeful about the possibility of the measure becoming law. She said there is growing concern among lawmakers from both parties about monopolies, companies that control too much of a market or industry.

克洛布查尔表示，她对这项措施成为法律的可能性充满希望。她说，两党国会议员都越来越关注垄断企业控制太多市场或行业。

Speaking about internet companies commonly called "technology" companies, Klobuchar said: "Tech has no mercy." She said the bill would permit negotiations on "everything from advertising revenue to access to information on subscribers."

在谈到通常被称为科技企业的互联网公司时，克洛布查尔表示：“科技企业毫无怜悯之心。”她说，该议案将会允许就“从广告收入到获取订阅用户信息的所有事项”进行谈判。

"This bill will give hardworking local reporters and publishers the helping hand they need right now, so they can continue to do their important work," Cicilline said in a statement.

西西林在一份声明中表示：“这项议案将为努力工作的当地记者和出版商提供他们现在所需的帮助，这样他们就能够继续开展他们的重要工作。”

Klobuchar noted that most people now get their news online through Facebook and Google.

克洛布查尔指出，现在大多数人都通过脸书和谷歌在线获取新闻。

Social media companies use news to get the attention of users and have been accused by news publishers of not sharing advertising revenue with them. The legislation could mean that struggling news organization would receive more money for their products.

社交媒体公司利用新闻来吸引用户关注，并被新闻出版商指责不跟他们分享广告收入。这项立法可能意味着苦苦挣扎的新闻机构将从他们的作品上获得更多收益。

Employment at U.S. newspapers has dropped by about 50 percent since 2008. One reason is that money from advertising has gone to big internet social media businesses. Those numbers come from Pew Research which also says changing media behaviors are to blame.

自2008年以来，美国报纸从业人员下降了大约50%。原因之一是广告收入流向了大型互联网社交媒体企业。这些数据来自于皮尤研究中心。该研究机构还表示，媒体行为改变是罪魁祸首。

Small publishers using Google's advertising sales technology have said for years that their bigger competitors are getting more money from the search engine.

使用谷歌广告销售技术的小型出版商多年来一直表示，比他们更大的竞争对手通过搜索引擎获取更多收益。

Cicilline is a chairman of the Judiciary antitrust panel in the House of Representatives. It will hold a hearing on the matter on Friday.

西西林是众议院司法反垄断小组的主席。该小组将在周五就此事举行听证会。