[ad_1]
By Dean Ridings
SPECIAL FOR THE BEACON
What would my city be without a newspaper? If you haven’t asked yourself this question, it might be time to think about what the newspaper means to this community.
Because the sad fact is that too many small towns and medium-sized towns are losing their newspapers right now.
An in-depth study by the University of North Carolina published in January found that last year 2,100 newspapers had disappeared, or nearly 25% of the 9,000 newspapers published in 2004. This translates to 1,800 communities that 15 years ago had their own newspapers and now have no original local reporting, either in print or digital.
Note that this report was released just weeks before the coronavirus pandemic swept newspapers into the same financial disaster that devastated businesses of all types and sizes and threw millions of people out of their jobs and out of business. home in terrifying economic uncertainty.
What does a community lose when it loses its newspapers?
The most obvious is the community’s access to information about itself: The functioning of its town hall; information on taxes and property values; the functioning of schools for his children; the criminal accomplishments or activities of local residents; scores of local ball teams; schedules and reviews of films, concerts, restaurants and books; and offers from local small businesses.
During this pandemic and despite their deep financial woes, newspapers continue to provide unique local news and information on COVID-19 – from test spots to restrictions and openings to dining options – not available from any other source.
But the less obvious losses when a newspaper goes missing can be the most devastating for a community.
Researchers found in 2018 that when a local newspaper closes, municipal borrowing costs – and therefore residents’ taxes – increase. Why? According to the study, the loss of a document creates a “local information vacuum”. It turns out that lenders depend on
reports to judge the value of government projects – and those responsible for them. Without this information, lenders tend to charge higher rates.
Communities without newspapers are also more likely to fall victim to local incidents of corruption, large and small, that the national media will never disclose. The most egregious example comes from the small Californian town of Bell, where – without the eyes of a local newspaper on them – the city council organized the passage of a virtually unnoticed referendum to circumvent a new capping state law. salaries of board members. In five years, council members won $ 100,000, the police chief was paid $ 450,000 – and the city manager of this town of just 37,000 souls made almost $ 800,000.
The loss of a local newspaper, according to another study, can also lead to increased political polarization – something that no community, not our nation, needs now.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to avoid becoming another “information desert”. On the one hand, subscribe.
But there is also pending bipartisan legislation that deserves your support. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act (HR 7640) provides tax credits that support the three pillars of reliable, fair and accurate journalism: people who subscribe to local newspapers or other media; businesses that advertise in local newspapers; and newspapers which staff their newsrooms with journalists who cover the community. Tax credits are not permanent and expire after five years.
In short, this bill would provide each taxpayer with tax credits of up to $ 250 per year to spend on subscriptions to qualified local newspapers. It would give businesses with less than 1,000 employees tax credits of up to $ 5,000 in the first year and up to $ 2,500 for the next four years for advertising in local newspapers or local media. And he would give local newspapers a tax credit of 80% of his compensation for journalists in the first year and 50% for the next four years.
It’s about tax credits, not handouts, not bailouts. And the tax credits disappear after five years. But this legislation offers a lifeline to everyone affected by the pandemic: local readers, local businesses, local news providers.
Asking your lawmakers in Washington to support the Local Journalism Sustainability Act is a simple step you can take to help keep your community from becoming another information desert. There is also an easy way to get over this step – just go to https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials for contact details for your lawmakers.
Your right to fair and reliable local news and information is worth it.
– Ridings, a former DeLand resident, is CEO of America’s Newspapers, which represents 1,500 newspapers across the country.
[ad_2]
Source link