Americans know local press is important to their democracy and community – 85% said in a recent Pew Research Center survey.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress understand that government support is needed to help save the local press system, and that it can be done without compromising the independence of news outlets.
But it took him a long time to act. As we enter the second half of the year, it seems unlikely that Congress will do anything but local journalism in 2024.
Dysfunction reigns and attention has turned to elections and summer vacation.
Meanwhile, layoffs, consolidations and closures continue and could accelerate this year as news outlets big and small struggle to find their footing, online and off, as advertising and subscription businesses are disrupted.
“I think it’s going to be a tough year,” said Zach Metzger, director of the Local News Project at Northwestern University’s Medill School, which tracks newspaper closings.
Several states have added tax credits and other proposals modeled on journalism bills stalled in Congress.
Regional support is encouraging, the policy shows what can be done and raises awareness of the crisis.
But this is a national problem that demands a federal solution. Congress cannot be lulled into thinking it will be solved by the state.
Deep national divisions, loss of shared understanding and toxic partisanship will be exacerbated if only a few prosperous blue states have healthy local newspapers.
New York in April approved $30 million in annual tax credits to help save newsroom jobs. Illinois lawmakers approved a similar, $25 million package last month, but as of Thursday morning the governor had not signed it.
California lawmakers are considering a $500 million tax credit program, funded by a new tax on tech giants that harvest users’ personal information, but are still awaiting a Senate vote on Thursday.
Washington state last year exempted publishers from business and occupation taxes, a move expected to save jobs by reducing the tax burden on news outlets by $10 million over 10 years.
Two-thirds of the local newspaper industry has disappeared and the skeletal remains of what is generally seen are fewer.
As the white-shoe press reeled last week over palace intrigue at The Washington Post, nearly half of Oregon’s newspapers were put up for sale or sold, dozens of reporters lost their jobs and five papers closed.
“It’s a struggling industry,” said Heidi Wright, chief operating officer of Salem-based EO Media, a fourth-generation publisher that sold because it didn’t think it could survive anymore.
“If people want to have verified, reliable, and relevant content produced by people who live in their communities and know them, we need to figure out a way forward,” he said.
Wright believes the only way to continue to have substantial local journalism is through a combination of sustainable business operations, philanthropy and legislation.
As I wrote in Thursday’s column, another Oregon paper group was acquired by Carpenter Media Group, the Southern chain that bought Washington’s Sound Publishing in March.
The day after announcing the Oregon deal, Carpenter told the union in the Sound’s flagship newspaper, the Everett Herald, that layoffs would be announced in the coming weeks.
This bleeding can be avoided.
Congress has been sitting for more than two years on a direct, relatively low-cost bill that will stop the bleeding and stabilize the industry.
There is bipartisan support for tax credits to save national newsroom jobs, and for antitrust measures that would improve the outlet’s business prospects, by helping them negotiate fair compensation from the tech giants that profit from their work.
But tax credits are “impossible this year,” said Dean Ridings, CEO of American Newspapers, a lobbying trade group.
Ridings now hopes Congress will advance those credits, in the Community News and Small Business Support Act, in the first quarter of next year.
“Something can change and we hope to continue to gain momentum so that we are ready, if that happens,” he said.
Publishers tell Ridings that business is challenging.
“It’s like what you see in Oregon and other places,” he said. “There are some bright spots here but business is tough.”
Ridings said the lawmakers he spoke with saw how the community was affected by the decline and loss of local newspapers. The arrest is due to the overall dysfunction in Washington, DC
“It’s really hard to get anything done,” he said. “While we in our industry believe that this is a priority, and I believe that this is a priority for our country, there are several priorities. Unfortunately, none of them are really managed as they should be, there is just a lot of dysfunction.
Meanwhile the patient was bleeding out, waiting for an ambulance that took a good route.
