Jay RosenJan 25, 2023

The market has failed. Philanthropy can't do it. The public good that is local news needs another support system. Now there's an alliance calling for public policy solutions. Rebuild Local News it is called. Their ideas:

* A tax credit for consumers to subscribe to or donate to local news
* A tax credit for small businesses to advertise in local news
* A tax credit for local news organizations to hire and retain local journalists

https://www.cjr.org/opinion/how-public-policy-can-help-save-local-news.php

#journalism #localjournalism

How public policy can help save local news

<p>It’s understandable that the idea that government should help save local media makes many journalists’ skin crawl. How can reporters get support from one of the institutions we’re supposed to be holding accountable? In this case, journalists should rethink their concerns. Here’s why: The local news crisis is severe—and on a scale beyond the capacity […]</p>

Columbia Journalism Review
Show threadAaron Ross Powell ☸️Jan 25, 2023
@jayrosen_nyu How do we decide what qualifies as “local news” for purposes of the tax credits? We should be very cautious about giving the state, via legislators or regulators, the power to draw that line, for the same reason that we don’t want the government deciding what “the press” is for purposes of free speech protection. But if the state’s not deciding, then can anyone who says “I’m a local news source” get money directed to them through this program?
Show threadJay RosenJan 25, 2023

@arossp The people involved are aware of this problem. Which is not to say they have solved it. So far the answers they have are: Must disclose ownership, have at least one one full time local reporter, have media liability insurance, and can't be funded by PACs or 501c4s.

https://twitter.com/stevenwaldman/status/1618066001366745088

Steven Waldman on Twitter

“@asveenstra @jayrosen_nyu No. But the challenge was how to come up with objective criteria that would deal with that. We tried: must disclose ownership, have at least one 1 full time local reporter, have media liability insurance, and cant be funded by PACs or 501c4s. Other ideas welcome!”

Twitter
Show threadAaron Ross Powell ☸️Jan 25, 2023
@jayrosen_nyu If Stormfront had a reporter on staff and was funded via donations from its readers, would it qualify for tax credits, then?
Show threadJay Rosen

@arossp I don't know. But it might be harder than it looks to meet those conditions, especially media liability insurance. Would you insure Stormfront for the possibility it will libel someone?

I would add that the people involved are not naive and they are not idiots. They are aware of most, if not all of these problems, and they are trying to come up with creative solutions.

Jan 25, 2023 at 2:35amWeb