On the 110th episode of Editor & Publisher Reports, Publisher and Host Mike Blinder sat down with the National Newspapers Association’s (NNA) chair, Brett Wesner, and E&P contributing editor Gretchen Peck to talk about the urgency for advocacy for the Local Journalism Sustainability Act (LJSA).
At the end of last week, word had come that at least part of the LJSA — payroll tax credits for newsrooms — remained in the Build Back Better Reconciliation bill being discussed in Congress.
It’s legislation that the NAA, America’s Newspapers, Report for America, and other industry associations have tenaciously lobbied for in Washington, DC, and press associations including NENPA have urged their members to support.
Steven Waldman of Report for America, appearing on CNN, says the Build Back Better Act would provide payroll tax credits for local newsrooms to support struggling papers. “On the ground, people know this is a very non-partisan issue,” he says. The decline of local news “affects every community in America.”
https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/11/07/build-back-better-provision-would-aid-local-news.cnn/video/playlists/business-reliable-sources/
https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2021/11/07/build-back-better-provision-would-aid-local-news.cnn/video/playlists/business-reliable-sources/