Money Well Spent

It’s a long shot at this point, but there’s a proposal stuck in the gears of state government that offers a glimmer of hope for an industry facing enormous, and in some cases existential, pressures — journalism.

New York’s Local Journalism Sustainability Act would provide tax credits to media companies that hire more local journalists, and a personal income tax credit of up to $250 annually to those who support local media companies as subscribers.

For small news organizations, it could be the difference between a constant fight to keep the lights on and actually planning for a future that involves more in-depth reporting of issues important to each individual community. By helping to offset the cost of supporting local news organizations, it encourages citizens to be more informed and involved. For what amounts to pennies in the state budget, it could be a lifeline for an industry that was struggling even before COVID-19 created unprecedented challenges.

This isn’t hyperbole. In 2004, there were 439 weekly newspapers published throughout New York State, Fifteen years later, before COVID, that number had fallen to 249. There are countless challenges to publishing a local newspaper these days, from the cost of printing to the steady parasitical effect of Facebook and Google on revenue and readers.

And this isn’t charity, it’s an investment: According to the Economic Policy Institute, every 100 jobs in newspapers and related media sustains 268 additional jobs.

As state legislators and Governor Kathy Hochul craft a new state budget, this measure is still on the table — barely. It needs to be revived, first, and then to gain momentum in a very short period of time. State officials need to hear from responsible, well-informed citizens — the kind who have read this far into an editorial in their local newspaper — that every local media outlet deserves a helping hand to rise and better serve the communities they live in. The investment would be returned in so many ways, not least of which is a healthier, robust reporting environment that provides a check-and-balance on government itself.

The alternative? Eventually, it will leave social media and Google — which employ no professional journalists — as the primary source of information on local issues. With that in mind, it’s fair to say that nothing less than the fate of hundreds of communities, and our democracy, is at stake.

New York’s Local Journalism Sustainability Act won’t fix all that. But it surely will help.