Rebuild Local News Testifies in Support of California’s Community NEWS Act

On April 13, Policy Director Matt Pearce testified before the California Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee in support of the Community NEWS Act (AB2222), which would create refundable tax credits to support journalist employment in California:

Chair Gipson and Vice Chair Sanchez,

We write to respectfully urge a yes vote on Assembly Bill 2222, the Community Newsroom Employment and Workforce Sustainability Act (the Community NEWS Act), authored by Assemblymember Christopher M. Ward, which we are honored to sponsor this year.

Rebuild Local News is the leading nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition developing and advancing effective public policies designed to strengthen community news and information. Our broad-based organization brings together the largest alliance of local publishers and labor unions, civic organizations and newsrooms representing both rural and urban communities. Together, these 55 organizations represent over 3,000 newsrooms and 15,000 journalists working together to revive local news.

The Community NEWS Act is a First Amendment-friendly policy that would create refundable tax credits for California local news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ, with enhanced benefits for the smallest community newsrooms and outlets creating new journalist jobs. Local print, digital, and broadcast outlets would benefit regardless of whether they are for-profit businesses, 501(c)3 nonprofits or sole proprietorships. Similar versions of this approach have been recently enacted in Illinois, New York and New Mexico with broad support from lawmakers and local news stakeholders.

Our communities need action to address the local news crisis. California has one of the lowest levels of local reporting capacity in the United States, according to the Local Journalist Index developed by Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News. In 2002, the U.S. employed roughly 40 full‑time local journalists per 100,000 residents. Since then, California has lost nearly 34 journalists per 100,000 residents. California has an estimated 2,386 full‑time local journalists left — just over six per 100,000 residents — ranking 42nd out of all 50 states in the nation.

The Community NEWS Act goes straight to the heart of the local news crisis by making it more affordable for local news organizations to hire and retain local journalists. The bill creates two types of refundable tax credits for employing journalists. The first credit, a job retention credit, is worth $20,000 per journalist for up to five positions, plus $15,000 per every additional journalist. The second credit, a $15,000 “new hire” credit for news organizations that expand journalist headcount, can be stacked on top of the retention credits.

The Community NEWS Act has been endorsed by a coalition of local independent news outlets, unionized news workers, journalism educators and ethnic media. We are also currently engaging other stakeholders on technical feedback to ensure this approach can be accessed equitably by all of California’s essential local news providers.

We respectfully encourage your support of California’s local news providers and a YES vote on AB 2222.