Progress in CT! And this particular approach involves no new money being spent by the government. It's just saying... hey if you're spending ad money on media anyway, how about you make an effort to put some of it toward community media.

When Rebuild Local News began we promised ourselves that even if we become rah rah advocates we'd try to be intellectually honest too. While we are THRILLED with the historic & mostly-great NY jobs credit, it's not perfect. Richard Tofel shows areas of improvement dicktofel.substack.com/?utm_source=na…

The pieces by Jonathan Alter have been fascinating

💙😃💙

Grateful for Report for America's commitment to local journalism across the country — and for the work our transportation reporter Daniel Zawodny is doing for The Baltimore Banner!

NY State passed a plan to provide $30M per year for three years in tax credits for news outlets in the state. This recognizes 1) local news is a public good 2) communities can't thrive w/o it 3) there are smart ways for public dollars to reach local news.
rebuildlocalnews.org/rebuild-local-…

Cool/important job: Rebuild Local News is now seeking a Chief Operating Officer to help lead the organization and build this movement to save local news (in our case, through public policy). rebuildlocalnews.org/careers-chief-…

Thank you! But most credit goes to the local publishers and labor unions in New York (and the bipartisan elected officials)

RED STATE SPECIAL: You might think, nice that a blue state is willing to directly help local newsrooms. Wont happen in red states. Solution: tax credits or grants to small businesses that advertise in local news. That idea gets real interest in red/purple states.

Independent news publishers in New York which hire and retain staff will be able to apply for tax credits from a $30m yearly pot to go toward journalists' salaries. Local news advocate Steven Waldman called it 'the most significant state effort yet.'
thewrap.com/new-york-local…

The labor unions were absolutely key in getting this legislation passed