|
The Local Journalism Task Force conducted a study on communities
underserved by local journalism. It was formed by legislation
that was signed into law in 2021.
“Robust local journalism is vitally important and I look forward
to reviewing the recommendations from the task force as we seek
to maintain and grow a strong press corps in Illinois,” Gov.
J.B. Pritzker said in a statement after signing the legislation
into law.
Since 2005, the task force found that Illinois has lost 86% of
journalist jobs at newspapers, and 232 local newspapers have
folded. The report also cited a decline in advertising revenues
for local news outlets as a majority of Illinoisans said they
get their news online.
The task force cites studies that have shown that communities
lacking robust local journalism have lower levels of voter
participation, higher levels of corruption, and misinformation
flourishes.
“The goal here is to get local reporters covering local
meetings,” said State Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, the
chair of the task force. “Trying to avoid the politics, we just
need people on the ground covering what’s going on in
communities so people in those towns and communities know what's
going on.”
Five of Illinois’ 102 counties (Pulaski, Alexander, Perry,
Hamilton, and Edwards) have no local source of news, and 33 rely
on just a single source, according to The State of Local News
2023, a research project led by Northwestern’s Medill Local News
Initiative.
The report said the lack of government oversight is “especially
alarming in Illinois,” which has more units of government than
any other state. Illinois’ 8,517 units of local government range
from cities to drainage districts.
The task force supports using subscription, advertising and
payroll tax credits, and state-funded journalism scholarships as
possible ways to help revive the local news industry in
Illinois, but state Sen. Donald DeWitte, R-St. Charles, warns of
consequences when taxpayer dollars enters the mix.
“When state funding is involved, I fear there’s a real chance
that those who receive these subsidies may feel indebted to the
grantor,” said DeWitte.
The report will be submitted to the Illinois General Assembly
for consideration.
|
|
