Last week was rough, with a new wave of furloughs, pay cuts and layoffs of journalists working hard to bring essential local news to their communities.
That means our work to #SaveTheNews is even more urgent. Support is growing for our news industry stimulus campaign. The NewsGuild is working tirelessly to build bipartisan backing.
Our efforts are getting attention:
- According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, newspapers representing more than 80% of U.S. circulation are disqualified from receiving support under the Paycheck Protection Program. The Guild and many others are pushing to change that.
- “This is a crisis and an emergency. We need to make sure that we continue to operate for ourselves but also for our communities because they depend on us so much,” NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss told CBS News for an April 23 story.
- The NewsGuild’s plan was mentioned in a Washington Post article: Deep newspaper job cuts prompt rare plea for federal funding to news media.
- An April 22 article in the Daily Beast, Media Union Turns to Republican Lobbyists to Help the Industry, talked about the NewsGuild’s efforts to build bipartisan support, which is needed to pass any news industry-related stimulus package.
This week, we’ve been fueled by the comments left by supporters who have signed and shared our petition.
“Community journalism is the lifeblood of Democracy. We really need people to step up and protect it now more than ever.” – Bera in New York
“Once local news is gone, it will be twice as hard to bring it back. Let’s keep it from going in the first place.” – Evan, Pottstown, PA
Here’s two quick ways you can help:
- Help us with our campaign by sharing why news is important to you or your community. We’d love to use your story in our campaign to Save The News.
- Share our petition on social media