Local journalism is facing a crisis in the face of new digital platforms that have gained ground in the media, removing sponsors, advertisements and profits, so implementing new sources of income is key to continuing its work.
According to the Pew Research Center, the volume of advertising allocated to local newspapers has decreased 82 percent since 2000, which represents a decrease of 40 billion dollars, which is why new initiatives are being sought to rescue local journalism. through various forms of taxpayer support and other public policies.
Steven Waldman, founder and president of Rebuild Local News and co-founder and former president of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms across the United States, said there is a crisis and the real discussion is planning what It is what can be done on a daily basis to work towards having better opportunities.
One idea that exists to improve the situation is that government propaganda be pushed to local journalism; In New York City, this proposal was made, half of the money the city spends on propaganda ads would go to the community press, generating a shift of 10 million dollars of funds towards the media press, including the local press, he said. Steven Waldman during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services.
There are several programs that can support, either by promoting local journalism or by providing tools such as internet service for communities that need it, Waldman highlighted.
Ryan Adam, vice-president of public and government relations at the Toronto Star, was active in the enactment of Canada's Online News Act (Bill C-18), a bargaining code that helps ensure compensation for technology companies editors for their content, he commented that in Canada a method began to be implemented that included Google and Meta to pay those who create content and for its use.
Since despite the great use of social networks, the press has adapted to the change, allowing it to be a tool in communication, the aim is for people who are in print media to switch to digital subscription, in this way we bring the public to technologies.
For Adam, the solution is not found in government financing, since it would be something conditional that could end at any moment, leaving the media in the same place, but he suggests that relying on two large companies like Google and Meta is functional. and enriching for local media.
"Leaders in technology should recognize the important role that journalism, based on Bill 866, has in democracy and in communities, it must be seen with unity for society," Adam pointed out.
Brittney Barsotti, general counsel of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, which closely follows media legislation, including California's AB 886 (California Journalism Preservation Act) to support local journalism, explained that it seeks to compensate to those who generate digital content for the money they earn.
Regarding the bill, he commented that the benefit is intended to reach small media of different ethnicities, so it cannot be done only based on the content due to amendment one, something that has generated complications for them.
?We have established a minimum for publications and we are seeing if we can do a minimum count per journalist or a hybrid, which is based on journalism. "We have had various conversations where we seek to focus on California and we have worked with the Senate Committee to do so," added Brittney Barsotti.
Experts agree that efforts are being made to ensure that each person has a voice, where large and small media outlets are considered in the face of the challenges of new technologies, giving them new ways to stand out with the support of the private and public sectors so that community is informed and represented.
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