CINA | California Independent News Alliance
With 1160 bills on his desk this year, Governor Gavin Newsom held a press conference Wednesday Sept. 30 to publicly sign AB 2222 — The Community News Act — into law.
Newsom said he has watched the “hollowing out of local news,”remembering his days as board supervisor, and then being introduced with dozens of reporters present. In contrast with today when some of his events as governor of California have only 2 or 3 reporters.
That loss of reporting coverage, Newsom said, results in “more mistrust, more division, more anger and more bias that’s expressed.”
He said he was particularly concerned by the $6.2 billion merger of Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc. in March, which will impact the diversity of coverage in the news industry. “To allow penetration (into) 80% of the households is one of the most chilling and significant issues in our nation that has consistently been undercovered.” Newsom said.
In regards to “waste, fraud and abuse,” the governor made an example of the City of Bell, and the corruption that was exposed and brought into light by the LA Times.
What the law will do
Beginning for tax year 2027, AB 2222 will provide $20,000 each for the first five newsroom journalists, $15,000 each after that, with additional funding for half time and new hire reporters. Non profit, for profit, print, digital, and broadcast media are included. Gov. Newsom said, “this bill will support “even those propaganda outlets.”
The bill is funded through a federal tax conformity and is expected to generate a $40 million budget by eliminating tax credits for corporations employing CEOs making over $1 million annually.
Newsom touted other journalism support from the state during his tenure, the Civic Media Program and the 33 journalists in the Fellowship program.
Newsom’s concerns over the legislation
Newsom said the legislation likely will require fine-tuning next year.
“I do think there needs to be work on this bill next year,” he said. “We should not be subsidizing hedge funds. … We should be focused where the need is the greatest, in my humble opinion.”
Newsom said the state should follow up on the legislation and “monitor the implementation in a thoughtful and judicious way so it’s going to the people who need it most and not subsidizing the people who need it the least.”
“This is an uncapped program which is not insignificant in terms of long term costs,” Newsom said.
He continued: “It [AB 2222] does subsidize those who don’t need to be subsidized. We have hedge funds in this space. We have billionaires in this space. We have people that are profiteering in this space by gutting the newsrooms and extracting the value out of the space that are also the beneficiaries. And I have a signing statement that suggests that should not be the priority of this bill.”
The benefits of this bill far outweigh those liabilities, he said.
“I’m honored to be able to sign it,” Newsom said.
Reaction from California’s independent media
Laura Rearwin Ward, California Independent News Alliance founder and board chair, said: “This California win for journalism funding is a win for the public’s right to know. It is an important step forward for our state’s 250-plus independent news outlets to begin to build back what has been lost over the last 15 years.
“Reporting coverage is a right that has been protected today and the California Independent News Alliance thanks Gov. Newsom, the California Legislature and all of the advocacy groups, news organizations and readers who helped realize this vital legislation.
