The Pulitzer Center has joined with 18 other news organizations in support of the “Future of Local News Commission” Act, which would set up a commission to “study the state of local news and its ability to sustain democracy by informing the American public about critical issues.”
The commission is co-sponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Jon Sawyer, executive director of the Pulitzer Center said:
“Independent journalism is more crucial than ever to American democracy but its business model no longer works. We applaud this effort to better understand a crisis that affects us all—and to explore possible solutions.”
A few things the commission will do, if established, include:
- Include 13 members with relevant experience—in print, digital, and broadcast news, as well as the business, civil society, and research communities—from diverse regions of the country
- Examine the implications for the American democracy of the disappearance of local newspapers, digital native sites, and broadcasting outlets in every state and territory, and in rural, urban, suburban, insular, and tribal communities, and those serving Black communities and non-English-speaking communities
- Assess the effectiveness of existing federal laws, institutions, and programs in supporting the production of local news
More details can be found here.
