Killing the free press, one regulation at a time

The economic pressures on local newspapers brought about by excessive government regulation is a grave threat to our democracy. David Chavern reports for CalMatters.

A new report warns that the current health crisis may accelerate the closing of community newspapers across the nation. These outlets are critical to our democracy. When they can no longer afford to continue reporting, communities lose a vital watchdog and government business is hidden from public view.

Right now, many communities throughout California are suffering the loss of their watchdogs. More than a dozen newspapers have suspended operations in the last five months, with more planning to close in the coming months.

Last year, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 5 for how businesses classify workers as contractors or employees. In recognition of the inapplicability of the legislation to the news industry and the economic headwinds facing community newspapers, the Legislature gave news publishers a one-year exemption, but when the extension ends in December 2020, publishers will be forced to classify newspaper carriers as employees.

They are expediting their transition to digital-first publishing and exploring new methods for providing information to their communities as more readers turn to these methods during the crisis. However, cutting print days disenfranchises specific demographic groups, such as senior citizens and other residents who don’t have internet access (6%) or don’t have a reliable internet connection (up to 25% of rural communities). Through losing their local newspaper, these groups are losing their main source of information and their connection to the community.

At a time when California’s unemployment rate is alarming, lack of legislative action to extend the exemption for newspaper carriers will cause even more job losses. If publishers are forced to limit circulation areas for financial reasons, they will have to reconfigure carrier routes, reduce home deliveries and cease daily publication, which means thousands of carrier routes will be eliminated.

To save California newspapers, at a minimum, the Legislature must extend the exemption to AB 5, which will provide newspapers with more time to get past COVID-related advertising declines and to adjust their operations to meet changing consumption patterns. In addition, to further aid ethnic and community news publishers, the Legislature should prioritize these outlets for public outreach ads. Not only will this help provide residents with access to key local resources and public health information, it will help these community outlets bridge the financial gap without any additional state funding.