A Legislative Update on H.R. 7640
Newspaper publishers step up their advocacy efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Newspapers—often zealous advocates on their editorial pages for this issue or that endorsed candidate—nevertheless have a history of shying away from championing one cause: their own.
“If you go back a decade or two, there was resistance to getting involved in legislative activities,” America’s Newspapers CEO Dean Ridings said in a recent E&P Reports podcast.
But the coronavirus pandemic, coming on top of an already accelerating economic decline among newspapers, is changing all that. “I think there’s a better understanding that we are a business like any other businesses, and we need to work with our legislators like other businesses do.”
The best example of that changing attitude to date is the Local Journalism Sustainability Act (H.R. 7640), a bipartisan bill that originated from newspaper publishers themselves. In the podcast, Francis Wick, president and CEO of Wick Communications, described his epiphany as he contemplated a dystopian industry landscape in the absence of some kind of federal help.
“As the pandemic was underway, it became apparent that we were going to see, and we are seeing, a proliferation of news deserts in this country and journalists are going to be going away,” Wick said. “It’s a very frightening proposition for our country, for our communities and for the mission we all have signed up to serve.”
The legislative idea was quickly embraced by congresspeople contacted by Wick and Seattle Times president Alan Fisco.
The legislation focuses on the three constituencies that sustain vibrant local journalism: the community, local businesses and journalists. It proposes tax credits over a period of five years for subscriptions to local newspapers; for advertising spending in local newspapers and local news media; and for payroll costs of compensating local journalists fairly and adequately.
But beyond the specific Act itself, the speakers on the podcast emphasized, the larger issue was involving legislators, publishers and newspaper audiences in the issue of advancing local journalism imperiled in the short and long term.
“We have some momentum for journalism— and that’s the key here,” Wick said. “We need some consideration from the federal level that on how important local, professional journalism is.”
Newspapers need to involve their readers as well. Fisco noted that a recent Poynter poll found that a solid majority of Americans believe their local news media is doing well financially—a wholly mistaken notion even before the pandemic’s catastrophic effects.
E&P publisher Mike Blinder noted that America’s Newspapers has been doing its part in that regard, producing a blizzard of editorials, editorial cartoons and house ads—all available for free—that are aimed at educating and persuading the general public.
The Local Journalism Sustainability Act may not be the specific piece of legislation that carries forward succor for newspapers, Paul Boyle, the News Media Alliance’s senior vice president of public policy, said on the podcast, but publishers should support it now—and recognize the influence they have with lawmakers.
“Members of Congress know that their local newspaper is important,” Boyle said.
“It provides content to their constituents…in many cases, it’s the only way congressmen can get information out to their constituents. Now more than ever, our content is important to our local community and I think policymakers know that.”