WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters has come out in support of the Senate version of Local Journalism Sustainability Act, joining a large number of other organizations in favor of the bill.
The Senate and House versions of the bill would attempt to strengthen the financial basis of local journalism, which has been under severe strain in the last decade, by providing a number of tax credits designed to help local newspapers, local digital news operations and local TV and radio stations.
“NAB applauds the introduction of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act, which would support and enable hiring additional local journalists for broadcast newsrooms,” NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith said in a statement. “At a time when misinformation and disinformation plague online platforms, broadcast radio and television continue to serve as reliable beacons of news that keep local communities informed and connected. We appreciate Sens. Cantwell, Wyden and Kelly’s leadership in ensuring a vibrant future for local journalism and we urge congressional passage of this legislation.”
The Senate version has also been widely supported by a number of other organizations according to Report for America, which is also backing the effort.
In addition to the NAB, supporters include: Rebuild Local News, a coalition that represents more than 3,000 local newsrooms, as well as America’s Newspapers, Local Independent Online News Publishers, Institute for Nonprofit News, National Association of Hispanic Publications, National Newspaper Publishers Association, The NewsGuild-CWA, Local Media Consortium, National Federation of Community Broadcasters, Report for America/The GroundTruth Project, American Journalism Project, Solutions Journalism Network, Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Chalkbeat, Public Knowledge, Richner Communications, Wick Communications and JournalList.net
