The collapse of local news in America poses a significant threat to our democracy, underscored by flashing headlines: a 70% loss of journalism jobs and the closure of one-third of newsrooms in California over the last two decades.
Today, we are calling on the state governor and legislature to double down on these programs’ successes with a $35 million budget investment to ensure every Californian has access to the news and information they need.
Accountability and return on investment
Administered by UC Berkeley Journalism, the California Local News Fellowship has placed more than 110 early-career journalists in newsrooms across 64% of California’s counties to help close news gaps in underserved urban and suburban communities and remote areas including Shasta, Trinity and Imperial counties. These fellows are active chroniclers of news and information, generating over 4,000 stories annually on critical issues like immigration, healthcare, language access, wildfires and housing insecurity.
This program has also proven to be a sustainable workforce pipeline: 39% of the first cohort alone were hired into permanent, full-time journalism roles immediately following their fellowship.
Parallel to the fellowship program, Propel — a collaboration between the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, American Community Media (ACoM), California Black Media (CBM) and the Latino Media Collaborative (LMC) — provides the business “engine” support for these statewide newsrooms. By helping leaders develop sustainable revenue strategies and deepen audience engagement, Propel ensures that our trusted messengers remain financially viable to continue serving their local communities.
Solving California’s challenges through information
The state’s investment in journalism is not a subsidy; it’s a high-yield investment in the civic framework undergirding democracy and an informed citizenry. By ensuring local communities have accurate information on issues crucial to their lives like health care and housing, we reduce the long-term costs of government inefficiency and enhance on-the-ground accessibility.
Beyond fiscal efficiency, this investment supports good governance. In our information ecosystem, local media outlets are the first responders for working families and small businesses, ensuring they have a voice in the labor and employment landscape. Our advocacy extends to those historically left out of this conversation, including veterans and Native Americans.
But visibility is only the first step. True empowerment requires a watchdog. These reporters hold officials accountable on the local impact of state housing policies and health care accessibility.
Whether the challenge is systemic or individual, involving the explaining of the impact of federal immigration enforcement or ensuring a non-English speaking family can navigate the healthcare system, community and multicultural newsrooms bridge the gap.
This role as a civic bridge also has a profound economic dimension, connecting all of California’s communities to the state’s $71 billion export economy, where global trade growth translates directly into local jobs. Local newsrooms help local communities navigate these consequential systems and policy.
The next phase: Funding our civic infrastructure
To expand on the initial success and meet the scale of the current journalism crisis, our $35 million request includes a vital $20 million allocation for the Civic Media Fund that will trigger a 1-to-2 private match: a $10 million match from Google, driving a total of $30 million into local news outlets serving every corner of the state.
This column is reprinted from American Community Media.