From the Founder’s Desk: A legislative effort to help local journalism

Dear Readers:

In past columns, I have shared my concerns about the future of local news, as a growing number of organizations have downsized or closed in recent years. However, there have been some bright spots — including the introduction this week of Washington Senate Bill 5400.

This legislation would create a journalism grant program administered through the state. The funding would be generated by increasing an existing business tax surcharge — used for workforce training and education — that is already being levied on large software companies.

This surcharge would raise $20 million that would be distributed to local newspapers, broadcasters and digital publications, including My Edmonds News, MLTnews and Lynnwood Today. It’s estimated these grants could be in the range of $10,000 to $15,000 per journalist.

The bipartisan bill is sponsored by State Sen. Marko Liias, a Democrat who represents the 21st District that includes portions of Edmonds and Lynnwood, and State Sen. Matt Boehnke, a Republican from the Tri-Cities.

Brier Dudley of The Seattle Times, who writes frequently about the struggles of local journalism, noted in a Jan. 22 opinion piece that “SB 5400 would keep the lights on and seats filled in Washington newsrooms.

“Washington may have around 1,800 remaining journalists, which is down two-thirds after two decades of cuts and consolidation,” he continued. “Grants would save remaining jobs, encourage hiring and prevent further newspaper closures.”

Dudley called me Wednesday to ask whether such legislation would help smaller publications like ours. I told him that it would benefit us a lot, since we have a lean workforce of just three full-time employees plus some freelance writers and photographers to cover a population of 200,000. Those extra dollars would allow us to expand our coverage and help us further our goal of hiring more reporters.

Sen. Liias has been a supporter of local journalism for years, often pointing to his past work as a freelancer for the Mukilteo Beacon. He was also a co-sponsor of legislation — along with Sen. Karen Keiser — that created the Murrow News Fellow program, which is operated by the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. The program places reporting fellows in communities for two years. The My Neighborhood News Network received one of those fellows — Angelica Relente — who since October 2023 has been covering housing issues in South Snohomish County.

Some may question this type of funding mechanism for local journalism. But if we value the watchdog role that journalism plays, if we value the reporting on our communities, our neighborhoods, our events, our artists, our children and, yes, even beautiful sunset photos — we need to find diverse strategies to keep local news alive.

Because right now, the future of local journalism is precarious.

In late 2022, the League of Women Voters of Washington released a study, “The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy.” It points to research that the loss of newspapers over the past 20 years has caused serious impacts: Fewer people running for office and fewer people voting, less community engagement, increased political partisanship, and negative outcomes in public health and public finance, among other concerns.

If you value how our publications — and other local news you read — contribute to our robust democracy, please consider supporting SB5400. The bill has its first hearing in the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. You can sign up to testify in person or remotely, submit written testimony or send a comment to your legislators at this link.

With gratitude,

Teresa Wippel
Founder, President and CEO
My Neighborhood News Network

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Real first and last names — as well as city of residence — are required for all commenters.
This is so we can verify your identity before approving your comment.

By commenting here you agree to abide by our Code of Conduct. Please read our code at the bottom of this page before commenting.