Newsom signs low offering tax breaks to California local news companies – CalMatters

Newsom signs low offering tax breaks to California local news companies  CalMatters

Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a novel tax plan to keep California’s shrinking newsrooms afloat. It provides incentives for companies to hire journalists. California’s shrinking news industry just got a major lifeline. Gov. Gavin Newsom endorsed a novel plan to boost California’s struggling local media landscape, signing a law that will give news organizations tax breaks. The governor signed a bill Wednesday to give local newsrooms $20,000 in tax credits for up to five journalists and an additional $15,000 for every additional reporter, with no cap. Outlets will also get $15,000 for every new journalist they hire and $7,500 for part-time employees. Print, broadcast, digital, and nonprofit newsrooms that produce original reporting and meet certain editorial standards qualify for the tax breaks.

Newsom cited local news’ decades-long decline and the rise of misinformation for signing Assembly Bill 2222. “When you lose local journalism, partisan organizations step in. More division, more anger, more bias that’s expressed. And we’ve seen it here in California,” he said at a press conference. One in three California newsrooms have disappeared since 2005 as the media industry continues to hollow out due to fleeing advertisers and, increasingly, AI-generated search driving traffic away from traditional and reputable news organizations. San Diego Assemblymember Chris Ward, a Democrat who authored the bill, said the funding boost will help struggling outlets