[ad_1]
Congress agreeing to defend democracy and the free world, by supporting allies under threat, was a historic moment this week.
Now it’s time for elected leaders to finish the job, by protecting democracy here in the U.S.
To do so they must save America’s local, free press system.
As the Founding Fathers made clear, a robust press system is vital to the health of democracy. It is a Constitutional obligation to protect the press, which is essential to inform and engage voters and hold their government accountable.
Fortunately this critical defense can be provided without further arms or another partisan wrestling match.
All that’s needed is the stroke of a pen, to finalize two relatively low-cost, bipartisan proposals in the House and Senate.
They would save thousands of newsroom jobs, prevent hundreds more news outlets from failing and ensure that millions of American voters are equipped with factual information they need for self-governance.
Understandably, securing aid for allies under attack was a top priority. Leaders in both parties deserve praise for eventually uniting in support of the national security package approved by the House on Saturday and the Senate on Tuesday.
Now they must apply this same sense of purpose to approving the Community News and Small Business Support Act, a package of tax credits for local news outlets and advertisers, with bipartisan support. This will provide a lifeline to struggling news organizations as they retool for digital competition.
Also necessary is the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, a measure allowing news outlets to collectively bargain fair compensation from tech gatekeepers profiting from their work.
The JCPA is especially needed for small and regional outlets to succeed as their businesses are increasingly online. A few big, national publishers already have payment deals with tech giants but they don’t provide the local coverage needed for Americans’ civic literacy.
Washington’s congressional delegation gets this and should help their peers get these bills done immediately.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, the powerful Appropriations Committee chair and Senate President Pro Tempore, agrees that saving local news should now be a priority.
“I strongly support Congress taking bipartisan action to save local news — and passing legislation like the Community News and Small Business Support Act would be an important next step that Democrats and Republicans could get behind,” Murray said via email on Thursday.
“We need strong local journalism if we want a strong democracy — and when newspapers shrink or disappear altogether, misinformation and disinformation grow, and we end up with more partisan and divided communities,” the Washington Democrat said. “It matters if people can find trustworthy local journalism that reports on the issues that matter to them and the communities where they live.”
Ensuring the survival of the free press is also a priority for most Americans. A Pew Research Center survey released last week found 73% of U.S. adults believe press freedom, as enshrined in the First Amendment, “is extremely or very important to the well-being of society.”
Yet the free press system is now economically imperiled.
Technological and business disruption killed nearly a third of America’s newspapers over the last two decades, leaving more than half of its counties with little to no local news reporting. The rate of newspaper failures is accelerating, to about 2.5 per week, leaving ever more voters in the dark.
This demands government intervention, to stabilize a critical industry and set it on course for sustainability.
America’s strength lies in its democratic system, institutions and freedoms, along with the support of allies with similar systems and values.
All are weakened when the press dwindles.
Finish the job of strengthening national security and democracy, Congress, by saving local journalism before it’s too late.
[ad_2]
Source link