As Congress debates a new measure designed to help the millions of Americans left unemployed by the COVID-19 pandemic, another measure is on the table that would provide a life line for an industry that is facing an existential crisis — an industry that is the very definition of “essential” for a healthy America.
The Local Journalism Sustainability Act (HR 7640) is a bipartisan bill with 20 sponsors that recognizes the peril local newspapers face in the current economy crippled. The industry already was facing headwinds, negotiating a new internet-driven world with a new set of challenges. Newspapers are closing, and consolidating, and many will disappear without immediate aid. Communities will be the ones to suffer.
The measure offers tax credits to businesses that advertise in local newspapers and other media, making it more attractive to buy ads that, in turn, will bolster those local businesses. There’s also a tax credit for readers who buy subscriptions to print and online publications that cover local news. Finally, newspapers themselves would get a tax credit to help pay salaries of the talented men and women who do the reporting in local communities.
Local news is essential to healthy governing. Please reach out to the East End’s representatives in Washington, D.C., in support of a measure that protects local news — and so much more.
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Staff Writer on Jul 28, 2020