Local journalism tax credits paying off in New York

Hello! Here’s what’s in this week’s issue:

→ Local journalism tax credits paying off in New York

→ Audiences don’t notice a difference in nonprofit news coverage

→ Podcast: How LION Publishers Helps Create Sustainable Local Media Publishers

→ Grants awarded to three Pennsylvania Newsrooms

→ Journalists in Wisconsin announce plans to unionize

📰 Local journalism tax credits paying off in New York

The Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs Program, a tax program in New York state which provides $90 million in subsidies for newsrooms to hire and retain workers, is paying off just months into its introduction.

The program offers a 50 percent refundable tax credit on the first $50,000 of each employee’s salary, with a cap of $300,000 per business over three years and is available to the 200 newspapers in The Empire State Local News Coalition.

The program has spurred the launch of three new local news outlets in Westchester and Long Island: The Rivertowns Dispatch, The Recorder, and the Floral Park Villager.

Read more here.

📰 Audiences don’t notice a difference in nonprofit news coverage

Researchers recently conducted an experiment that showed labeling a news article as originating from a nonprofit doesn’t impact the credibility of the information for audiences.

Is this a promising sign for nonprofits in the local news ecosystem? It may not be that simple.

The experiment was conducted with an online survey and also showed that labeling a story as coming from a nonprofit doesn’t affect the reader’s likelihood of returning to the same source in the future.

So is it a wash?

Read the full story from Poynter here.

🎧 Podcast: How LION Publishers Helps Create Sustainable Local Media Publishers

This week on the Small Press, Big Ideas podcast I spoke with Chris Krewson, Executive Director of LION Publishers.

LION (Local Independent Online News) is a nonprofit that strengthens the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses.

On the podcast we discussed the origins of LION, the importance of diverse revenue streams for local media companies, AI and its effects on the industry, how LION's sustainability audits benefit local publishers, the organization's new Sustainability 360 program, and more.

Click here to read the full story.

Listen here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

📰 Grants awarded to three Pennsylvania Newsrooms

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association announced the first recipients of the new PA Lab for Journalism Funding program which is aimed at strengthening local reporting in the state.

The Butler Eagle, SPIRIT Media Group, and WITF & the Steinman Institute for Civic Engagement were selected to receive a $20,000 kick starter grant.

The PA Lab for Journalism Funding is a first of its kind partnership between the state press association and the Local Media Association. The lab selected the recipients from a field of twelve local newsrooms who participated in a four month PNA/LMA Lab for Journalism Funding.

Read more here.

📰 Journalists in Wisconsin announce plans to unionize

Journalists at The Journal Times in Racine, Wisconsin have announced plans to unionize as The Racine NewsGuild. The journalists at the The Times have published a mission statement.

The guild will join forces with neighboring Kenosha Newspaper Guild Local 34159. The newspapers in both communities are owned by Lee Enterprises, who are being encouraged to recognize the new union and “bargain with us to work out a blueprint for a strong and productive future”.

Read more here.