New York will set aside money to help local news outlets hire and retain employees

Microsoft

New York will set aside money to help local news outlets hire and retain employees

New York is setting aside $90 million in tax credits for local news outlets to hire and retain journalists

ByMAYSOON KHAN /REPORT FOR AMERICA Associated Press

May 23, 2024, 12:50 PM

    ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York is offering up to $90 million in tax credits for news outlets to hire and retain journalists in an effort to help keep the shrinking local news industry afloat.

    The U.S. newspaper industry has been in a long decline, driven by factors including a loss in advertising revenue as outlets have moved from primarily print to mostly digital. That prompted state lawmakers to help in a measure passed in the state budget.

    New York’s three-year program allows some news organizations to tap into refundable tax credits each year, with a single outlet able to receive tax credits of up to $320,000 annually.

    State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, said preserving journalism jobs is vital for the health of democracy. As evidence, he cited the weakened New York news media's failure to research the background of George Santos, a Republican who fabricated many details of his life story, until after he had been elected to Congress.

    “Some of my colleagues have dubbed this credit the ‘George Santos Prevention Act’ because many believe it was the lack of local press coverage that enabled Santos to spin his web of lies undetected,” Hoylman-Sigal said.

    While it is intended to benefit small community news sites, larger media organizations could also potentially benefit. The tax credits would mostly only be available to news outlets that are not publicly traded, though there would be an exception for certain media businesses that can show a reduction in circulation.

    Hoylman-Sigal said he is open to making revisions to expand the legislation to include nonprofit news organizations and digital-only media outlets, which are currently left out of the program.

    “This is the first time in American history that we have created a tax credit structure to support journalism jobs,” Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild-CWA, a labor union for journalists, said.

    Lawmakers in several states have weighed various approaches to help struggling news organizations.

    The state governments in California and New Mexico help fund local news fellowship programs.

    The California Legislature is considering a bill that would require tech giants like Google, Facebook and Microsoft to pay a percentage of advertising revenue to media companies for linking to their content. Google pushed back recently by temporarily removing California news websites from some people’s search results.

    In Illinois, lawmakers have proposed a journalism scholarship program, a tax credit and a requirement that news outlets notify the state of plans to sell their operations four months in advance. Bills in Connecticut and Illinois would direct that some money the state spends on advertising go to local outlets.

    Most of the measures advancing this year have been in Democrat-controlled states. But Anna Brugmann, director of policy at Rebuild Local News, which advocates for government help for journalism, said there is interest in the idea in red states, too. The hang-up, she said: The initiatives can be expensive.

    She noted that in Wisconsin, there were both Republican and Democratic news aid bills this year.

    “We’re certainly looking at red and purple states, for the next legislative session,” Brugmann said.

    About 203 counties across the U.S. do not have any local news outlets, according to a report last year from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. More than 1,500 – nearly half the counties – have only one.

    New York's program, which would start in 2025, will divide tax breaks into two pots, with about $4 million worth of credits available to help newsrooms hire staff and about $26 million in credits to help with staff retention.

    Newsrooms could receive $5,000 worth of tax credits for each new hire, with a cap at $20,000, or four new positions. Newsrooms could get up to $300,000 worth of tax credits to help retain staff.

    “In a day and age where there’s so much information, having trained journalists who can ask the tough questions and hold elected officials and other public figures accountable is critical to our democracy as a country,” said state Sen. Jeremy Cooney, a Democrat who represents parts of the Rochester area in western New York.

    News businesses applying for the tax credit wouldn’t be evaluated based on whether government officials like their coverage, state officials said.

    Zachary Richner, the founder of Empire State Local News Coalition, said he hopes regulations for the program will be drafted in a way that prioritizes tax credits for “the news outlets that need it the most.”

    Tom Wiley, publisher at The Buffalo News, said the tax credit will help them invest in frontline journalism.

    “We think the tax credit will help us continue to be the key source for local news in western New York," Wiley said. “Our work is what sustains an informed electorate in our environment of misinformation and falsehoods.”

    ___

    Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

    Maysoon Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

    OTHER NEWS

    34 minutes ago

    Sex attacker dubbed 'Coronation Street rapist' launches NEW parole bid - despite breaking rules when he was last released from jail

    34 minutes ago

    Jobless man, 60, who still lives with his mother smashed woman's windscreen with his fists in fit of rage after she turned her car around in his driveway

    34 minutes ago

    From AI-powered limb-tracking to a match ball with a chip inside: The futuristic technologies powering Euro 2024 in Germany this month, revealed

    34 minutes ago

    NASA's Chandra X-ray telescope captures closest super star cluster to Earth (image)

    37 minutes ago

    Happy Father's Day! Amanda Holden and Charlotte Crosby lead the stars marking the occasion with sweet family snaps and heartfelt tributes

    39 minutes ago

    Ben Johnson to Snub Crystal Palace and Stay at West Ham

    39 minutes ago

    Alan Shearer spots England's biggest problem at Euro 2024 as he names ideal starting XI

    39 minutes ago

    England faces Serbia in Euro 2024 group opener aiming to end 58 years of hurt

    39 minutes ago

    Koeman shrugs off hiccups and insists Netherlands have fighting chance

    39 minutes ago

    Why 'The Apprentice' Filmmakers Have Not Yet Secured a US Distribution Deal | Analysis

    40 minutes ago

    Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli's one-year-old son Lucius shares first words

    40 minutes ago

    ‘He looked like a starving dog on the floor’: Prisoner trapped on indefinite jail term driven to hunger strike

    43 minutes ago

    England XI vs Serbia: Predicted lineup, confirmed Euro 2024 team news and injuries today

    43 minutes ago

    Kelly Ripa Sparks Fierce Debate After Calling Out a Common Nighttime Habit

    43 minutes ago

    Relebohile Mofokeng in strong Bafana Bafana Cosafa Cup prelim squad

    43 minutes ago

    Bryson DeChambeau leads US Open by three after birdie spree

    43 minutes ago

    Tee Higgins extension considered 'longshot' as Bengals WR signs franchise tag

    43 minutes ago

    Rose Ayling-Ellis 'set to front a new TV show promoting British Sign Language' following success of her documentary Signs For Change

    43 minutes ago

    Selena Gomez and her boyfriend Benny Blanco can't keep their hands off each other as they share a passionate kiss in Malibu

    43 minutes ago

    Clubs that have sent the most players to Euro 2024 REVEALED - so use our search table to see how many got the call-up from your team...

    43 minutes ago

    Jude Bellingham posed for SKIMS but he is not the first England player to flaunt their underwear - with David Beckham, Gary Lineker and Lioness heroine Chloe Kelly having done so too

    43 minutes ago

    Australia's Mitchell Starc insists his side were NOT aiming to throw Scotland game to knock England out of the World Cup despite Josh Hazlewood's stunning admission

    43 minutes ago

    Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz left 'heartbroken' and claim 'life couldn't get any worse' following tragic and 'unexpected' death of their beloved dog Nala

    43 minutes ago

    Australia's record population surge is being driven by Indian migration: Here's why so many of them are moving here - and what they really think about life Down Under

    43 minutes ago

    FA 'warn England fans will have their Euro 2024 tickets confiscated if they misbehave in Germany'... as footage emerges of supporters singing '10 German bombers' in the streets ahead of clash with Serbia

    43 minutes ago

    Labour's Wes Streeting refuses to rule out council tax rises and revaluation under Keir Starmer government as Tories claim party is also quietly  admitting it will need more public  money for the NHS as well

    43 minutes ago

    South Australian pet food producers facing crackdown

    43 minutes ago

    African Court of Justice impotent in ending human rights abuses

    48 minutes ago

    Western leaders reject Russia's peace offer

    48 minutes ago

    Kensington Palace post behind-the-scenes preparations for the King’s birthday

    48 minutes ago

    Croke Park brawl, penalties and All-Ireland Group deciders - the Armagh v Galway trilogy

    48 minutes ago

    Jets RB Breece Hall ready for showdown with former teammate Brock Purdy

    48 minutes ago

    Emmett Bradley's late goal saves Derry's season against Westmeath

    48 minutes ago

    Ledecky punches ticket to Paris Games, Walsh sets world record in Indy

    48 minutes ago

    Labor's climate goals are why you are 'paying so much' for your groceries: Peter Dutton

    49 minutes ago

    Giovanni Pernice makes first statement after Strictly Come Dancing exit

    49 minutes ago

    ‘I am the original Brexiteer’ - Rishi Sunak hits back at Nigel Farage challenge

    49 minutes ago

    Security forces storm a detention center in southern Russia, killing an unknown number of hostage takers

    50 minutes ago

    Las Vegas Raiders insider suggests pair of mult-time Pro Bowlers could be summer free agent additions

    50 minutes ago

    After Maharashtra setback, how BJP is planning to regroup, bridge gap with MVA