A Letter to Pelosi and Schumer from America’s Black Newspapers

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer:
As an official and representative of more than 230 Black-owned newspapers, media companies, and websites, we urge you to pass the Local Journalism Sustainability Act as soon as possible.

Local news is in a deep crisis. The number of reporters has dropped by 60% since 2000. Thousands of communities have no local reporting; thousands more have barely anything. And the problems are even worse in lower income communities.

In Black communities, we are witnessing the dire consequences.  Purveyors of misinformation have targeted our residents, flooding us with dangerously wrong information about COVID, elections and other matters.

For decades and in some cases centuries, our publications — and those serving other ethnic communities — have played a crucial role in informing the nation in an accurate and fair manner about the lives of Americans whose stories were not being told in so-called mainstream publications. But these publications are struggling — and it would be a tragedy of historical proportions if, having survived so many obstacles, they were done in by the digital revolution or short-sighted public policies.

We strongly support the Local Journalism Sustainability Act — in part because of its bottom-up approach. Rather than relying only on a government agency to dispense grants — an approach that has not always produced equitable results — it empowers not only publishers but consumers and small businesses in our communities to support the media that best serve their needs.

With this kind of approach, Black-owned newspapers and media companies can rejuvenate local news.

Signed,

Dr Benjamin Chavis, President and CEO

National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)

The news organizations represented by NNPA by State include:

Alabama
Birmingham Times
Greene County Democrat
Mobile Beacon
Speakin’ Out News
Arizona
Arizona Informant
California
Bakersfield News Observer
California Voice
Compton Bulletin  Inglewood Today
Inland Valley News
LA Focus on The Word, Inc.
LA Watts Times
Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper
Oakland Post
Our Weekly LA
Our Weekly – Antelope Valley
Precinct Reporter Group
San Francisco Bay View
San Francisco Sun Reporter
The California Advocate Newspaper
The Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley and Latino Journal
The Sacramento Observer
The San Bernardino American News
The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
Tri-County Sentry
Black Voice
Los Angeles Wave – Culver City Star
Los Angeles Wave- East Edition)
Los Angeles Wave – Herald American)
Los Angeles Wave – Los Angeles Independent)
Los Angeles Wave- Lynwood Press)
Los Angeles Wave – Northeast Edition)
Los Angeles Wave – The Press)
Los Angeles Wave – West Edition)
Colorado
Denver Weekly News
Connecticut
The Inner-City News
Inquiring News
District of Columbia
BlackPressUSA.com
NNPA Newswire Service
The Afro-American Newspaper (Wash DC)
The Washington Informer
Walls & Associates
Florida
Capital Outlook
Daytona Times
Florida Courier
Florida Sentinel Bulletin
Jacksonville Free Press
Orlando Advocate
The Pensacola Voice
South Florida Times
The Florida Star Newspaper
The Florida Sun
The Miami Times
The Orlando Times, Inc.
Westside Gazette
Georgia
Atlanta Daily World
Atlanta Inquirer
Atlanta Tribune
The Courier Eco Latino   CrossRoads News
Macon Telegraph
Metro Courier
Rollin’ Out
Savannah Herald
The Albany Southwest Georgian
The Atlanta Voice
The Columbus Times Newspaper
The Savannah Tribune
Illinois
Chicago Citizen Newspaper (Chatham-Southeast)
Chicago Citizen Newspaper (Weekend Citizen)
Chicago Citizen Newspaper (Hyde Park)
Chicago Citizen Newspaper Group (South Suburban)
Chicago Citizen Newspaper Group (South End Citizen)
Chicago Defender
East St. Louis Monitor
Muslim Journal
The Chicago Crusader
The Final Call Newspaper
The Windy City Word
The Times Weekly
Indiana
Frost Illustrated
Indiana Herald Newspaper
Indianapolis Recorder
The Gary Crusader
Kentucky
Louisville Defender
Louisiana
New Orleans Data News Weekly
New Orleans Tribune
The Shreveport Sun
The Louisiana Weekly
Maryland
The Annapolis Times
The AFRO American Newspaper (Baltimore)
The Baltimore Times
Michigan
Grand Rapids Times
The Telegram Ecrose
The Michigan Chronicle
Minnesota
Insight News
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Missouri
Kansas City Call
St. Louis Argus
The Kansas City Globe
The St. Louis American
Mississippi
Jackson Advocate
The Mississippi Link
North Carolina
Greater Diversity News
The Carolina Peacemaker
The Carolina Times
The Carolinian
The Charlotte Post
The County News
The Drum
The Triangle Tribune
The Wilmington Journal
Winston-Salem Chronicle
Maryland
The Annapolis Times
The AFRO American Newspaper (Baltimore)
The Baltimore Times
Michigan
Grand Rapids Times
The Telegram Ecrose
The Michigan Chronicle
Minnesota
Insight News
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Missouri
Kansas City Call
St. Louis Argus
The Kansas City Globe
The St. Louis American
Mississippi
Jackson Advocate
The Mississippi Link
North Carolina
Greater Diversity News
The Carolina Peacemaker
The Carolina Times
The Carolinian
The Charlotte Post
The County News
The Drum
The Triangle Tribune
The Wilmington Journal
Winston-Salem Chronicle
Nebraska
The Omaha Star
New Jersey
South Jersey Journal
Jersey City Daily Challenge
Newark Daily Challenge
Patterson Passaic Daily Challenge
New York
Afro Times
Buffalo Criterion
Harlem Community News- Bronx
Harlem Community News- Brooklyn
Harlem Community News – Harlem
Harlem Community News – Queens
Hudson Valley Press
New York Amsterdam News
New York Beacon
New York Daily Challenge
New American
The New York Carib News
The Westchester County Press
Ohio
Buckeye Review
Call & Post
Ohio CityNews
Columbus Post
Communicator News
Dayton Defender
The Cincinnati Herald
The Reporter
The Sojourner Truth
The Toledo Journal
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Eagle
The Black Chronicle
Oregon
The Portland Observer
The Portland Skanner
Pennsylvania
New Pittsburgh Courier
Philadelphia Observer
Philadelphia Tribune
The Spirit Media Group
South Carolina
The Charleston Chronicle
The Community Times Newspaper
Tennessee
The Christian Recorder/AME Church
Memphis Silver Star News
The Nashville Pride
The New Tri-State Defender
The Tennessee Tribune
Texas
A King Size View
African News Digest
The Dallas Examiner
Dallas Weekly  Ebony.com
D-Mars.com
East Texas Review
Garland Journal
Houston Defender
Houston Forward Times
Houston Style Magazine
La Vida News
The Black Voice
North Dallas Gazette
San Antonio Observer
Southwest Digest
Texas Informer
Texas Metro News
The Dallas Post Tribune
The Houston Sun
The Villager Newspaper
Virginia
Legacy Newspaper
New Journal & Guide
Richmond Free Press
Washington
The Metro Homemaker
Seattle Medium
The Tacoma True Citizen
The Seattle Skanner
Wisconsin
Milwaukee Community Journal
Milwaukee Courier
The Madison Times Weekly
The Milwaukee Times Weekly Newspaper