By The newspaper
Mar 27, 2024, 16:26 PM EDT
In an era when local journalism faces unprecedented challenges, the New York Local Journalism Sustainability Act, sponsored by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, emerges as a ray of hope for news media from all over the state. This groundbreaking legislation provides a refundable tax credit based on the payroll of newsroom employees, with the goal of revitalizing the local journalism industry when it is needed most.
Including this legislation in the State Senate’s budget response to Governor Hochul marks a huge step forward, marking the most progress the Act has made since its introduction in 2021. This development underscores the growing momentum behind the proposal, driven largely by the efforts of the Empire State Local News Coalition. This coalition, made up of more than 150 print and digital newspapers, has advocated for policies that support the sustainability of local journalism in New York.
The urgency of this initiative cannot be underestimated. With more than 3,000 newspapers closed nationwide since 2004, New York has been severely impacted, seeing its own number of newspapers decline from 501 to 260. This reduction not only represents a loss of jobs but also decreases community involvement, transparency and accountability in government management. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act seeks to reverse this trend by offering a 50% tax credit for the first $50,000 of each eligible newsroom employee’s salary, incentivizing news organizations to bolster their staff and improve their news coverage. local news.
El Diario, the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States and a key member of the Impremedia family, has witnessed firsthand the evolving journalism landscape and the growing need for supportive measures like this legislation. Local journalism is essential to informing, serving and uniting communities, particularly in times of national partisanship and social unrest. We must preserve and strengthen these local news channels, which act as the lifeblood of democracy.
The Local Journalism Sustainability Act represents an important opportunity for New York to lead by example, demonstrating a commitment to the values of a free press and informed citizenship. It is a call to action for all of us to support initiatives that guarantee the future of local journalism. At El Diario we support the Empire State Local News Coalition to urge the passage of this vital legislation, for the benefit of our readers, our communities and the very fabric of our democracy.
We ask all of our state Latino elected officials and Governor Kathy Hochul to step up to preserve and expand the crucial work of ethnic media in our communities. There is no time to lose.
For more information and support, visit www.SaveNYLocalNews.com. Together we can save local New York journalism.