WASHINGTON, D.C. (KRON) — Several congress members introduce legislative package to support and preserve local journalism.
On Monday, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), along with colleagues Congressman Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08), and Congressman David Cicilline (RI-01) introduced two pieces of legislation to support and preserve local journalism.
Additionally, the pieces of legislation will honor its role in bolstering holding government accountable and informing the public.
The Saving Local News Act (H.R. 6068) would make it easier for newspapers to become non-profits, allowing them the flexibility to focus less on maximizing profits and more on producing quality content.
The local news resolution (H.Res. 821) recognizes the importance of local media outlets to society and expresses the urgent need for Congress to help stop the decline of local media outlets.
“Local journalism has been the bedrock of American democracy for centuries. I have seen firsthand how journalists for local newspapers have kept our community informed, educated voters, and held power to account,” said Congressman DeSaulnier.
“As local newspapers are being bought up and taken over by large corporations, it is incumbent on Congress to act to protect this public good. My legislation would do just that and ensure newspapers in every community can continue to provide high-quality local coverage that millions of American rely on and deserve.”
According to the Pew Research Center, an estimated daily newspaper circulation fell 11 percent from the previous year since 2017.
Congressman DeSaulnier established a working group of dedicated Members of Congress from areas affected by a drought of high-quality journalism.
The group has been working to highlight this situation and bring attention to the need to promote local journalism, including by holding a Special Order on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and introducing the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (H.R. 1735), a bill to create a temporary safe harbor from anti-trust laws to allow news organizations to join together and negotiate with dominant online platforms to get a fair share of advertising profits.
“Over the past 15 years, one in five newspapers have closed, and the number of journalists working for newspapers has been slashed in half,” said Congressman Cicilline.
“We now live in a country in which at least 200 counties have no local newspapers at all,” Congressman Cicilline added.
“This crisis in American journalism has led to the crises we are seeing today in our democracy and civic life. We cannot let this trend continue because if it does, we risk permanently compromising the news organizations that are essential to our communities, holding the government and powerful corporations accountable, and sustaining our democracy.”
Congressman DeSaulnier’s bill and resolution are supported by: News Media Alliance, National Newspaper Association, News Leaders Association, Association of Alternative Newsmedia, California News Publishers Association, Free Press Action, Faculty of the School of Journalism at Northeastern University, Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, Save Journalism Project, PEN America, Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute, and NewsGuild-CWA.