Gretchen A. Peck | E&P Magazine
California lawmakers have sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a sweeping new plan to bolster local journalism, approving the Community NEWS Act (AB 2222) with bipartisan supermajorities in both chambers.
The “NEWS” in the Community NEWS Act is an acronym for “Newsroom Employment and Workforce Sustainability.” The bill was first introduced on Feb. 19 by Assemblymembers Christopher Ward and Buffy Wicks, and it was sponsored by the nonprofit Rebuild Local News.
Ward spoke on behalf of the Act during the California Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee hearing on April 13: “AB 2222 is ultimately a jobs bill and a democracy bill, helping to keep reporters in communities and ensuring that Californians have access to trusted local information.”
AB 2222 lays out a five-year program for providing tax credits to news organizations employing local journalists. From 2027 through 2031, eligible local news outlets may receive refundable tax credits accordingly:
$20,000 per year for each of their first five qualifying full-time journalists
$15,000 per year for each additional qualifying full-time journalist
$7,500 for each qualifying part-time journalist
An additional $15,000 for each full-time journalist in a newly created journalism role
Rebuild Local News’ Policy Director Matt Pearce worked hand in hand with Assemblymember Ward’s office on the bill’s design and language.
Moments after AB 2222 passed, Rebuild Local News’ Steven Waldman posted to social media, “Pinch me. The California legislature just passed the most significant measure to help community news in the nation — probably in American history. Passed with supermajorities in both houses and now goes to Gov. Newsom.”
For E&P’s audience, Rebuild Local News’ Waldman, Pearce and Senior Policy Manager Gene Perry authored a comprehensive and nuanced “Shoptalk” explainer about AB 2222’s significance, support and its practical implementation.
In California, AB 2222 faced formidable opposition, notably from the California Chamber of Commerce and California Taxpayers Association.
Advocates for AB 2222 represented a coalition of parties sometimes on the opposite sides of negotiation tables. Associations like the California News Publishers Association and the News Media Alliance, representing publishers and owners, linked arms with labor unions — including the NewsGuild-CWA local chapters and SAG-AFTRA — to champion the cause.
Danielle Coffey, president and CEO of the News/Media Alliance (NMA) — an association representing more than 2,200 news media organizations — said: “The genius of this bill was twofold. First, it’s platform-agnostic, which means the program’s recipients can be any type of local news organization employing local journalists: print, digital, broadcast, audio or streaming. They can operate as nonprofits, for-profit organizations or even as independent journalists filing as sole proprietors.”
There are, of course, some benchmarks to eligibility. Applicants must disclose ownership; they cannot be owned by a political action committee (PAC). In the case of broadcast organizations, they must be FCC-licensed. They must carry liability insurance and are required to publicly publish a corrections policy. At least 33% of their audience must be in California.
NMA’s Coffey lauded former California state Sen. Steve Glazer, who helped lay the groundwork for AB 2222. In 2024, he introduced SB 1327, which similarly sought to use tax credits to encourage California news organizations to hire and retain local journalists. It didn’t pass statehouse muster.
Coffey said, “The successful 2026 passage of the Community NEWS Act was due to a news community that came together and rallied around the proposal. It’s a community that can sometimes feel like a circular firing squad, difficult to build consensus on most dilemmas. In the past, legislative proposals have stalled because they became mired in infighting over which news media organizations should be eligible for legislative relief and which should be intentionally excluded.”
America’s Newspapers’ President and CEO Dean Ridings concurred. In a statement to E&P, Ridings said, “America’s Newspapers applauds the California Legislature for passing the Community NEWS Act (AB 2222) and commends the News/Media Alliance, CNPA and all of the organizations that worked so hard to make this legislation possible. The bill’s inclusive, news-neutral approach is especially important, recognizing that strong local journalism depends on supporting news organizations of all sizes, structures and formats. This is an excellent example of what our industry can accomplish when we work together.”
James Kass, executive director at KAWL Public Media in San Franciso offered perspective from public media and radio: “I think it’s wonderful. Investing in local news throughout this incredibly diverse state is important at any time, but especially now when media consolidation and growing distrust in larger media institutions is hurting all of us. As an organization dedicated to investing in a new generation of journalists who represent multiple communities throughout the Bay Area, we couldn’t be happier that California is making this kind of investment in all of us. A state as large and as diverse as California — geographically, ethnically, economically, that faces all kinds of issues — deserves this kind of investment.”
Sept. 30 is the deadline for Gov. Newsom’s signature or veto.
Note: This article will be updated throughout the day with reaction from California’s news media community.
