Local news is a vital source of information that is tailored to a specific area and serves an essential role in informing residents, fostering a sense of community, and addressing local concerns. But local journalism faces financial challenges due to declining advertising revenues and competition from digital platforms that can affect the depth of coverage.
The decline of local news is a threat to democracy, as a well-informed citizenry is essential to community problem solving. The decline of local news means residents are less informed about schools, government effectiveness, crime, economic development, health care, religion, the environment, and issues facing small businesses – important information needed to make the most of their community’s resources and potential.
While it may be tempting to point fingers at the broader media or partisan interests, the reality is that the local news crisis stems from a range of factors and requires a broad-based solution. This plan offers policies that focus on helping Americans pay for their local journalism through philanthropy and government support aimed at addressing key obstacles and amplifying the ingenuity of local communities to create a new local news ecosystem.
Among other things, this plan would create a $250 refundable tax credit that could be used to pay for a subscription to a local newspaper or an online local news outlet such as a podcast or YouTube channel. This is an idea based on an excellent bill introduced by bipartisan Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick and Dan Newhouse, called the Local Journalism Sustainability Act.