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 state’s three-year program allows news organizations to tap into refundable tax credits each year, with a single outlet able to receive up to $320,000 annually. State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat who sponsored the legislation, emphasized the importance of preserving journalism jobs for the health of democracy and cited a recent incident involving a Republican candidate who fabricated details of his life story, which went undetected due to lack of local press coverage.
While the tax credits are intended to benefit small community news sites, larger media organizations could also potentially benefit. The tax credits would mostly be available to news outlets that are not publicly traded, with an exception for certain media businesses that can demonstrate a reduction in circulation. Lawmakers are 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 initiative marks the first time in American history that a tax credit structure has been created to support journalism jobs, according to Jon Schleuss, president of the NewsGuild-CWA.
Lawmakers in several states have been considering various approaches to help struggling news organizations. California and New Mexico already have programs to fund local news fellowship programs, and the California Legislature is considering a bill that would require tech giants to pay a percentage of advertising revenue to media companies for linking to their content. 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. Similar bills are being considered in Connecticut and Illinois to direct state advertising money to local outlets.
About 203 counties across the U.S. do not have any local news outlets, while more than 1,500 counties have only one. The goal of New York’s program, which will start in 2025, is to divide tax breaks into two categories: credits to help newsrooms hire staff and credits to help retain staff. Newsrooms could receive tax credits for each new hire up to a maximum cap, as well as credits to retain existing staff. The founder of Empire State Local News Coalition hopes that regulations for the program will prioritize tax credits for the news outlets that need it the most, while publishers like Tom Wiley from The Buffalo News believe the tax credit will help them continue to be a key source for local news in western New York.
The news businesses applying for the tax credit will not be evaluated based on whether government officials like their coverage, and state officials have emphasized the importance of trained journalists who can ask tough questions and hold public figures accountable. The tax credit is seen as a valuable investment in frontline journalism that will help sustain an informed electorate in an environment of misinformation and falsehoods, according to state Sen. Jeremy Cooney. The program has garnered support from various stakeholders in the news industry, including publishers and labor unions, as a crucial step in supporting and bolstering the struggling local news industry.
