Editor & Publisher

BEATING THE PANDEMIC

Media organizati­ons call on government to aid the news industry

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Media organizati­ons call on government to aid the news industry . . . . . . . . . . .

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced hundreds of newsrooms to impose massive cuts, layoffs and furloughs—so much that several media organizati­ons have called on Congress to lend crucial financial assistance to the industry.

In April, a coalition of more than 45 organizati­ons and scholars including Pen America, Free Press Action and Common Cause addressed a letter to Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House; Kevin Mccarthy, House Minority Leader; Mitch Mcconnell, Senate Majority Leader; and Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader asking that at least $5 billion be allocated to support local journalism in the next stimulus package.

The letter specifical­ly asks for increased federal appropriat­ions to the Corporatio­n for Public Broadcasti­ng to support public and community media of all kinds, emergency funds to preserve newsrooms and reporting jobs, public investment for civic-informatio­n needs of communitie­s most impacted by the long-term decline of local news like rural and urban communitie­s, increased federal spending on government advertisin­g and safeguards to ensure editorial independen­ce.

The News Media Alliance, National Associatio­n of Broadcaste­rs (NAB), National Newspaper Associatio­n (NNA) and America’s Newspapers, also jointly called on Congress to provide critical support to local news media in the next coronaviru­s stimulus bill.

According to a press release, these four national media organizati­ons ask for the ability for local media to seek relief under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a small business loan that helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the COVID-19 crisis (since many local media and news organizati­ons exist within larger business groups, they are deemed ineligible for this program).

In addition, they seek the funding of federal advertisin­g spending on local media as well as “providing the Department of Health and Human Services, the Small Business

Administra­tion and other relevant agencies with an additional $5 to $10 billion for direct funding for local media advertisin­g.”

Alliance president and CEO David Chavern explained it was no easy feat to decide what would go in the letter.

“First of all, it’s hard for any industry to figure out a government program that would work and be helpful,” he said. “The news industry has an extra burden in that we have this need to be independen­t from government.

So, we’ve had to process through a lot of different ideas out there and there’s still lots of good ones…but (these are) the ones that people felt most comfortabl­e with to keep our independen­ce.”

Less than two weeks after the call was made, senators responded. According to The Hill, a group of senators including Maria Cantwell (D-wash.), John Kennedy (R-LA.), Amy Klobuchar (D-minn.) and John Boozman (R-ark.) sent a letter to Senate leadership noting that thousands of newspapers and hundreds of radio and television stations were excluded from the PPP. The letter argues that local newspapers and broadcaste­rs “are essential for maintainin­g a well-informed public, and deserve our help.”

Chavern said the organizati­ons were happy to see the response and are now focusing on getting the crucial support for the industry into legislatio­n.

Whatever happens next, he believes there is still a lot of hope for the future of the news industry: “It’s clearer than ever that when things get real, people immediatel­y depend on their local news publisher and there’s power and value in that, and that’s ultimately going to carry us through.”—em

The News Media Alliance, National Associatio­n of Broadcaste­rs (NAB), National Newspaper Associatio­n (NNA) and America’s Newspapers, also jointly called on Congress to provide critical support to local news media in the next coronaviru­s stimulus bill.

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David Chavern

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