The Indiana Publisher

Page 10 December 2021 Editor's note: The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the Biden Administration's "Build Back Better" recon- ciliation package — a bill that includes provisions in the Local Journalism Sustainability Act. A vote is pending in the Senate. Cindy Durham America's Newspapers The Local Journalism Sustainability Act carries the opportunity to significantly impact even the smallest com- munities across the United States, says Southern Newspapers President Leonard Woolsey. Woolsey, who also is presi- dent and publisher of The Daily News in Galveston, Texas, says: "Our industry, particularly on the smaller community side, has always run lean and with every- one doing multiple jobs — it is in our DNA." Tax credits that would allow those papers to hire even a single additional reporter or staff mem- ber would be "an investment that pays off in incredible multiples," he said. "Imagine, say, a reporter writes three stories a day. Those three stories times five days equals 15 stories. Multiply by 52 weeks, and you are at 780 stories explicitly written about a local community. Imagine the impact of that voice in the local conver- sation of a small (or any) commu- nity in America." Matt McMillan, CEO of Press Publications in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, echoed the value that newspapers bring to the local community. "We're the only reporters at most of our meetings and news events," he said. "We write and publish voters' guides before each election so readers know the positions of candidates running for local office. No other sources exist in our communities for this vital coverage." The LJSA would help papers like his retain and recruit reporters who are vital to community news coverage. LJSA tax credits also would be a "game chang- er" for Southern Community Newspapers, Inc., says Michael Gebhart, presi- dent and CEO. "Adding even one more reporter to each of our newspapers would allow for more coverage and more in-depth cov- erage of local news and events, strengthening all our papers." Gebhart, Woolsey and McMillan shared their thoughts with America's Newspapers about the industry's need for the tem- porary tax credits that the LJSA would offer. "Our industry remains chal- lenged because of sluggish rev- enues and the continued Big Tech threat," Gebhart said. "Revenues have been declining for years. The pandemic hurt us, and the sluggish economy impacted many core advertisers. We're beginning to see some slight improvement, but because of category cutbacks, the revenue challenge remains. While I am confident our industry will continue to navigate through the tumultuous waters, it won't come without major challenges to the bottom line." "One monumental change," he said, "would be the tax credits granted from LJSA. The passage of the bill would help local news- papers reach sustainability over the next few years." Like so many other business models, Woolsey said the news- paper industry is in an historic transition. "Fueled by technology and a rapid change in behav- iors resulting in part from the 2020 COVID lockdowns, our industry is rapidly rebuild- ing our business models with a new pathway to growth and sustainability," he said. "Some are doing better than others, but the loss of one newspaper in a small community is one too many. We need to fight for the fabric of our community." The gauge of success He said his company, Southern Newspapers, is doing fine — "but fine should never be a gauge of success. We moved fast and furious as COVID came on the scene, but it was painful and at times heart-wrenching. And if we learned anything in the last two years, the pace of change and need for rapid evolution of our business plans will forever remain in a two-minute football drill mode. The world changed like the tectonic plates — and so must we. Remember, fine is not good enough. A good business must be responding to coming changes, not stuck reacting to what is hap- pening in the moment. The LJSA will allow many that extra hand to reset their team and business plans for true sustainability." As for the next five years, he said: "Southern will be here and serving communities to the best of our abilities. What that will look like is incredibly uncer- tain — as the lessons of the past two years have proven. What I do know, however, is we will approach each day as a critical moment in time requiring us to make the best longer-term deci- sions for our communities and employees. I believe what we do has both purpose and is inherently tied to the success of our democ- racy — and I, for one, am not going to let that light go out on our collective watch." Without newspapers, the watchdog is missing News is necessary, says McMillan, and community newspapers need to transition for the sake of their communi- ties. Without newspapers, the watchdog is missing, which can lead to taxes increasing and vot- ing declines. He said the sense of community, volunteerism and giving also can decline without newspapers. "We play vital roles inform- ing citizens in our communities," McMillan said. "Reader trust for community newspapers hasn't and won't change. In fact, reader trust is growing as people become wise about untrusted sources. Subscriptions are growing." McMillan said that Press Publications, like other commu- nity papers across the country, is rebounding from government/ pandemic limits on community festivals, fairs, events and disrup- tions. "We expect recovery to continue as these events return — provided breaks in supply chains allow them to do so. The recovery is choppy, but improving." Big Tech disruptions In addition to the financial break that temporary tax cuts would provide over the next five years, McMillan also said this gives time for Congress to act on another issue of importance to newspapers — the disruptions caused by Big Tech companies. Australia passed a law this year that requires Big Tech com- panies like Facebook and Google to pay local media outlets and publishers to link their content on news feeds or in search results. LJSA tax credits: game changer for community newspapers "Reader trust for community newspapers hasn't and won't change. In fact, reader trust is growing as people become wise about untrusted sources." — Matt McMillan CEO, Press Publications See Credits,page 10

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