valley views The time to support local news is now C
ongress has an opportunity to pass legislation that benefits all local citizens, businesses and even protects our democracy. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, LJSA for short, should be included as part of any upcoming reconciliation bill that Congress is conDean Ridings sidering. The LJSA is a wellthoughtout bill that would provide needed support to local news organizations, including local newspapers, to ensure their viability as they continue to make progress toward a digital future. Many members of Congress have seen what happens when a newspaper closes in their district,
and they see the impact cover the issues that it has on the community. impact local cities and That is why many of our towns. The result is a bill leaders, including Senathat provides a bridge for tors Cantwell, Schumer, local newspapers as they Manchin, Wyden and continue to evolve their others have stepped up in business models. support of the So why is it LJSA. And so critical for while others Dean Ridings, CEO Congress to America's Newspapers pass the LJSA in Congress may not have now? Quite signed on as simply, the co-sponsors of the bill future of local newspayet, many recognize the pers in many areas of the importance and the need country hangs in the balto maintain strong local ance. In the past 15 years, news organizations in more than a quarter of all their communities. newspapers have disapTo understand what peared, and many more the LJSA is, it is import- have been forced to make ant to understand what staff reductions that have it is not. This is a temdiminished the coverage porary measure to help of topics that impact newspapers at this critical local citizens. The way time, and it sunsets afpeople get their informater five years. The LJSA tion and advertise their won’t help national news local businesses is quickly organizations, but it will moving to digital, and support local news orgalocal newspapers continnizations and help them ue to be impacted by the invest in their newsrooms Big Tech companies that in order to continue to use their original content
Newspaper View
Let’s talk about term limits A
mericans are divided over just about everything today. From politics to sports to entertainment, Americans do not agree on anything, except for their dislike of career D.C. politicians in Congress. Poll after poll indicates that over 80% 10 - June 22, 2022
of Americans support Knievel could not achieve. And voters repeatedly elect term limits for Congress, regardless political canof political didates who affiliation. support term Ed Walker Those are perlimits. Former MT State Senator centages that Americans such famous see Congress Montanans as part of the as Gary Cooper and Evel problem for the dysfunc-
Valley Views
without fair compensation. To make matters worse, newspapers, like many other industries, were financially impacted by the pandemic, even though the coverage provided by local newspapers was more vital than ever. The current economic challenges have only hastened the need for Congress to act on the LJSA quickly. As inflation is impacting everyone, it has made the environment for local newspapers even more challenging. The cost of retaining employees has gone up. The cost of newsprint has increased 30% over last year, and the cost of gas used to deliver the newspaper is up more than 50% in the past two years. Many newspaper carriers drive hundreds and even thousands of miles each week. These increases have driven many local newspapers closer to making further
reductions or even ceasing operations. Who wins with the passage of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act? Clearly, local newspapers win by obtaining the support needed to continue their investments in reporting on local news. But the real winners are the communities that keep their local newspaper. From watching the actions of local government, reporting on the state of local schools, tracking local health trends or providing the latest restaurant reviews and sales information, local newspapers keep a community connected and informed. We encourage everyone to reach out to their representatives in Congress and ask them to support local journalism. Whether it is inclusion of the LJSA in the budget reconciliation bill, or a stand-alone bill, the time
tion that we see today in our institutions. According to Gallup, approval for Congress has not reached 30% in over a decade. Voters don’t see Congress working for them. As I have travelled around Montana, I have heard this sentiment expressed over
and over again. For many, serving in Congress has become a lucrative lifelong job. We have one member of the House of Representatives who was first elected in 1980. In the Senate, we have a Senator serving
Valley Journal
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for action is now. It’s a rare opportunity for government to act on something that benefits us all. America’s Newspapers is the trade association for thousands of newspapers across the United States. Visit www.newspapers.org to learn more.
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