It’s no secret the news industry has suffered from declining revenues for years, with the situation so dire that many newsrooms across the country have shut down. Now, three state Democrats are trying to help local newsrooms in Wisconsin with a set of three bills aimed at paying for journalists, reporting projects and subscriptions.
“Local journalism is essential to our democracy,” said Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg. “But local news is dying. … (These) three bills are designed to ensure all Wisconsinites can access high-quality local journalism that connects them to their communities.”
Over the last 20 years, one quarter of America’s newspapers have gone out of business, according to a report from Pen America. The same report shows that one of every five Americans lives in a “news desert” — without access to information provided by a local news organization.
