Rebuild Local News

1 week ago | rebuildlocalnews.org | Matt Pearce

Dear Chair Jama and fellow Committee Members,My name is Matt Pearce, and I’m a senior policy advisor to Rebuild Local News. We support Senate Bill 686. Rebuild Local News is the leading nonpartisan, nonprofit coalition developing and advancing effective public policies designed to strengthen community news and information.

2 months ago | rebuildlocalnews.org | Steven Waldman

Testimony of Steven Waldman, president of Rebuild Local News, about HB 51 before the House Economic Matters Committee on January 22, 2025:Rebuild Local News is a nonprofit nonpartisan organization that develops and advocates for public policies that strengthen community news. The Rebuild Local News Coalition includes 40 national and state organizations that represent thousands of local news outlets, including many in Maryland. This is an excellent piece of legislation.

Jun 28, 2024 | rebuildlocalnews.org | Steven Waldman

Assembly Member Wicks and the sponsors of the legislation have clearly heard many of the concerns of a wide variety of publishers and community leaders. The new version of AB886 is vastly improved. Indeed, a system that distributed funds in the way imagined through this bill could dramatically improve coverage of California’s communities.   On the other hand, there are still problems with the legislation, which we lay out below.

May 8, 2024 | rebuildlocalnews.org | Steven Waldman

Testimony of Steven Waldman, president of Rebuild Local News, about SB 1327 before the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on May 8, 2024:The point of this bill is not primarily to save journalism jobs. The point is not really even to save newsrooms, though it will. The main goal is to help communities. They are the ones that are suffering as a result of the collapse of local news.

May 1, 2024 | rebuildlocalnews.org | Steven Waldman

Statement of Steven Waldman, President of Rebuild Local News, on SB1327, May 1, 2024:Sen. Glazer’s proposed local news employment credit would truly revitalize community news in California. It is a transformative proposal. It would dramatically improve the capacity of newsrooms to cover their communities, and is especially attentive to the role of medium and small sized outlets, including ethnic media.