Almost exactly 233 years ago, on Feb. 20, 1792, President George Washington signed the Postal Act into law.
The intent was to do more than just deliver mail. The act subsidized the newspaper industry, delivering papers at a reduced cost, because the Founding Fathers believed supporting a free press that informed voters was critical to self governance.
Today the independent, free press system is struggling but still providing essential local journalism. It’s battered by economic and technological disruption but finding new ways to operate and serve a public that’s consuming news in different ways.
Once again, the government must ensure the survival of the press through a period of change.
This cannot wait. More than a third of local newspapers closed over the last two decades, leaving more than half of U.S. counties with little to no local coverage. Rural and suburban areas are particularly hard hit.
Washington lost 28% of its local newspapers between 2004 and 2024, according to a tally by Northwestern University’s Medill School. Employment at the state’s remaining newspapers is down by around two-thirds.
The state named after our first president, and one of the original proponents of supporting the free press, has taken this crisis seriously. Washington’s state and federal elected officials have shown strong leadership in pursuing solutions to help save the local news industry and journalism jobs.
Washington’s Legislature is now considering a proposal that would greatly help sustain and grow its local news ecosystem, including broadcasters, digital news outlets and newspapers.
Senate Bill 5400 would create a $20 million annual grant program providing up to $15,000 per journalist at professional, local news organizations. State officials would have no say over what’s covered by grant recipients.
The program would be funded with a modest increase on a business tax surcharge paid by the state’s major technology companies.
Tech companies have paid this surcharge to supplement higher education funding, which benefits the companies by producing more knowledgeable graduates and increasing the state’s vitality.
Raising the surcharge to fund local journalism, by a maximum of $6 million for the largest companies, is a similar investment in the intellectual development and civic health of the place that fosters these companies’ growth and helps them recruit top-tier talent.
State Sen. Marko Liias, an Edmonds Democrat, deserves kudos for drafting this creative proposal and hearing out the concerns of those it will affect.
Liias and other legislators are also hearing, loud and clear, from Washingtonians who want the state to help save local journalism. More than 400 signed up to testify in favor of SB 5400 during its first hearing, on Jan. 28.
This is a challenging year for the Legislature with many competing priorities. But SB 5400 is a straightforward proposal that’s relatively low-cost compared to the broad and lasting benefits it will provide.
This won’t solve all the problems facing news organizations but it will help preserve newsroom jobs and sustain local news providers.
Federal legislation is still needed to provide support for local journalism nationwide, such as the tax credits proposed in the bipartisan Community News and Small Business Support Act.
News organizations must also be fairly compensated by tech platforms profiting from their work. That includes AI firms drawing on news outlets’ costly investments in journalism to train their large language models.
Meanwhile, Washington state can show leadership, just like its namesake, to bolster its local news industry, support voters that depend on professional journalism and strengthen democracy.
Please get SB 5400 done this year, before more news organizations and newsroom jobs are lost, leaving more Washington communities in the dark.
