Rebuild Local News Urges Governor to Strengthen Local News, Public Media in New Mexico

On March 3, Rebuild Local News President Steven Waldman sent a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham urging her to sign SB 151 and HB 2, legislation that would provide critical support for local newsrooms, stabilize public media and strengthen New Mexico’s information ecosystem:

Governor Grisham,

We are writing to encourage you to sign the Local Journalist Employment and Local News Printer Income Tax Credits contained in SB 151 into law. We would also request your continued support of the local news fellowships in the Department of Workforce Solutions as well as the $3 million emergency appropriation to stabilize public media, included in HB 2. 

Today, New Mexico ranks 38th nationally with just seven journalists per 100,000 people (a major decline in the past two decades) and the recent closing of the Gallup Independent marks another significant decline in local news.   

With your signature on these bills, New Mexico will become the new national leader in rebuilding local news. 

The new refundable tax credits will have an immediate impact in keeping existing nonprofit and for-profit news organizations open, especially in underserved and indigenous communities. The fellowships will help keep the next generation of journalists employed in New Mexico and the emergency funding for public media will help keep the citizens in every corner of New Mexico informed and better connected to their local communities.  

As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to revitalize community journalism, we’re proud to support the work of several New Mexico news organizations that worked with lawmakers to get these bills approved, including the New Mexico Press Association, New Mexico Local News Fund, and the Santa Fe New Mexican.

On behalf of Rebuild Local News, I strongly urge you to support local journalism in New Mexico and support SB 151 and HB 2.