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The State of New Jersey Wants to Subsidize News. Uh-oh.
PoliticoUnless you live in a bomb shelter and have canceled your cable TV and internet services, you’ve heard that the newspaper business has run aground. Advertising revenue is down 67 percent since 2005, and as panicked publishers shutter newspapers, reduce the number of days they publish, lay off journalists and cut local coverage to balance their books, the likelihood that great swaths of the country will become “news deserts,” devoid of accountability reports on government and corporations, have grown.
The state of New Jersey thinks it’s found the secret to making the desert bloom: A $5 million subsidy for a university-led consortium that will dispense grants for local news coverage. “Never before has a state taken the lead to address the growing crisis in local news,” said Mike Rispoli of the Free Press Action Fund, the advocacy group that advanced the consortium idea. “Trustworthy local journalism is the lifeblood of democracy; it allows people to participate meaningfully in decisions regarding local elections, public schools and policy decisions.”
If you think $5 million won’t go very far in a state the size, and with the corruption problems, of New Jersey, you’re right. The original Free Press Action Fund pitch was for $100 million, which was then whittled down to $20 million before it reached its current size. The project also seems barnacled with bureaucracy. According to NJBiz, a staff of four will be hired to oversee the non-profit program while taking direction from a 13-member board of directors chosen by the governor, the Legislature, five participating universities and others. Grants will go only to organizations that collaborate with one of the universities, or community, media and technology organizations affiliated with the consortium.
With so many hands stirring the pot, how good will the consortium soup be? FiveThirtyEight ranks New Jersey as one of the most corrupt states in the country despite having the most vigilant anti-corruption laws, so the state obviously needs watchdogging. But what confidence should we have that the state will happily fund investigations into its own malfeasance? Worse yet, given the state’s shaky moral compass, what are the chances the journalism initiative won’t match the corruption found in other state projects? Even if the consortium stays clean, won’t it avoid politically charged stories of great watchdogging potential because it will fear to bite the hand that feeds it? Government-funded news outfits like NPR and PBS, ever fearful of offending their funding sources, avoid hard-hitting government news for this reason. Public media may follow the news pack on a story about government corruption, but generally, they’re too compromised to lead. If “trustworthy” news is the objective, a government consortium can’t be the solution.
The state of New Jersey thinks it’s found the secret to making the desert bloom: A $5 million subsidy for a university-led consortium that will dispense grants for local news coverage. “Never before has a state taken the lead to address the growing crisis in local news,” said Mike Rispoli of the Free Press Action Fund, the advocacy group that advanced the consortium idea. “Trustworthy local journalism is the lifeblood of democracy; it allows people to participate meaningfully in decisions regarding local elections, public schools and policy decisions.”
If you think $5 million won’t go very far in a state the size, and with the corruption problems, of New Jersey, you’re right. The original Free Press Action Fund pitch was for $100 million, which was then whittled down to $20 million before it reached its current size. The project also seems barnacled with bureaucracy. According to NJBiz, a staff of four will be hired to oversee the non-profit program while taking direction from a 13-member board of directors chosen by the governor, the Legislature, five participating universities and others. Grants will go only to organizations that collaborate with one of the universities, or community, media and technology organizations affiliated with the consortium.
With so many hands stirring the pot, how good will the consortium soup be? FiveThirtyEight ranks New Jersey as one of the most corrupt states in the country despite having the most vigilant anti-corruption laws, so the state obviously needs watchdogging. But what confidence should we have that the state will happily fund investigations into its own malfeasance? Worse yet, given the state’s shaky moral compass, what are the chances the journalism initiative won’t match the corruption found in other state projects? Even if the consortium stays clean, won’t it avoid politically charged stories of great watchdogging potential because it will fear to bite the hand that feeds it? Government-funded news outfits like NPR and PBS, ever fearful of offending their funding sources, avoid hard-hitting government news for this reason. Public media may follow the news pack on a story about government corruption, but generally, they’re too compromised to lead. If “trustworthy” news is the objective, a government consortium can’t be the solution.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Governor and the Democratic Legislature can't agree on a budget for REAL spending needs...
6 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Right on NJ.
mainly because they have been the bedroom communities to both metropolises. Maybe the state can build up what local media they have to cover themselves. I usually end up hearing/reading more New Jersey news here in Philly than Philly or PA news - and that is coming from outlets (all formats - print & broadcast) that are located right here in Philadelphia. 