III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 596 

Designating April 2022 as ‘‘Preserving and Protecting Local News Month’’ 

and recognizing the importance and significance of local news. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2022 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Ms. BALDWIN, 

Mr. WYDEN, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BROWN, 

Mr. CASEY, and Mrs. MURRAY) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating April 2022 as ‘‘Preserving and Protecting Local 

News Month’’ and recognizing the importance and significance of local news. 

Whereas the United States was founded on the principle of 

freedom of the press enshrined in the First Amendment 

to the Constitution of the United States, which declares 

that ‘‘Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press . . .’’; 

Whereas an informed citizenry depends on accurate and unbiased news reporting to inform the judgment of the people; 


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•SRES 596 IS 

Whereas a robust, diverse, and sustainable local news presence leads to civic engagement and the buttressing of 

democratic norms and practices; 

Whereas local news serves as a necessary resource during the 

COVID–19 pandemic to provide communities with public 

health information and to inform communities about 

available services and support from Federal, State, local, 

Tribal, and territorial governments; 

Whereas published guidance from the Department of Homeland Security deemed journalists as essential critical infrastructure workers during the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas the absence of local news outlets and investigative 

reporting allows local government corruption and corporate malfeasance to go unchecked; 

Whereas local journalists help combat disinformation by 

using their community knowledge and connections to debunk fraudulent or misleading content; 

Whereas local cable franchises routinely provide for public 

educational and government access channels on their systems, and those channels— 

(1) offer vital local civic programming that informs 

communities; 

(2) provide news and information not often available 

on other local broadcast channels or cable; 

(3) supplement local journalism; and 

(4) at times, are the only source for local news; 

Whereas the people of the United States trust local news 

sources by a 2–to–1 margin; 

Whereas, according to recent research— 

(1) the United States has lost more than 2,100 local 

print outlets since 2004; 


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•SRES 596 IS 

(2) more than 200 counties in the United States 

have no newspaper at all, creating a news shortage for 

the 3,200,000 residents of those counties; 

(3) of the remaining counties in the United States, 

more than 1⁄2, or 1,528, have only 1 newspaper to cover 

populations ranging from under 1,000 to more than 

1,000,000 residents; 

(4) more than 1⁄2 of all United States newspapers 

have changed owners in the past decade, and, in 2018, 

only 25 companies owned 2⁄3 of all daily newspapers; 

(5) of the surviving 6,700 newspapers in the United 

States, at least 1,000 qualify as ‘‘ghost newspapers’’, or 

newspapers with reporting and photography staffs that 

are so significantly reduced that they can no longer provide much of the breaking news or public service journalism that once informed readers about vital issues in 

their communities; and 

(6) rural counties are among the counties most 

deeply impacted by the loss of local reporting, as more 

than 500 of the 2,100 newspapers that have closed or 

merged since 2004 are in rural counties; 

Whereas, while overall employment in newspaper, television, 

radio, and digital newsrooms dropped by roughly 26 percent, or 30,000 jobs, between 2008 and 2020, the plunge 

in newspaper newsrooms alone was much worse at 57 

percent, or 40,000 jobs, in that same time period; 

Whereas the number of news employees in the radio broadcasting industry dropped by 22 percent between 2004 

and 2020; 

Whereas beat reporting, meaning the day-to-day coverage of 

a particular field that allows a journalist to develop expertise and cultivate sources, has ceased to be a viable 


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•SRES 596 IS 

career for would-be journalists due to the decimation of 

newsroom budgets; 

Whereas requests submitted under section 552 of title 5, 

United States Code (commonly referred to as ‘‘Freedom 

of Information Act requests’’), by local newspapers to 

local, State, and Federal agencies fell by nearly 50 percent between 2005 and 2010, demonstrating a significant 

drop in the extent to which local reporters request government records; 

Whereas newspapers alone lost more than $35,000,000,000 

in advertising revenue between 2004 and 2018; 

Whereas, in the second quarter of 2020, advertising revenue 

fell by a median of 24 percent for local television companies; 

Whereas the revenue of all-news radio stations dropped by 24 

percent in 2020; 

Whereas there remains a significant gender disparity in newsroom employment, with women comprising approximately 

1⁄3 of staff who are 30 years of age or older; 

Whereas women who are local television news anchors and reporters, especially women of color, are often subject to 

harassment and stalking; 

Whereas, across the United States, there are more than 200 

newspapers published by and for Black readers, and, in 

recent years, many of those newspapers have seen— 

(1) significant losses in advertising revenue as small 

businesses in their communities were forced to close; and 

(2) circulation declines due to the closures of businesses in their communities; 


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•SRES 596 IS 

Whereas the number of Black journalists working at daily 

newspapers dropped by 40 percent between 1997 and 

2014, more than for any other demographic group; 

Whereas the number of print media sources published by and 

for American Indian readers has shrunk dramatically in 

recent years, from 700 media outlets in 1998 to only 200 

in 2018; 

Whereas Tribally owned news outlets are often dependent on 

Tribal governments for funding, but most of those outlets 

lack the policy structure necessary to fully protect journalistic independence; 

Whereas a 2018 survey by the Native American Journalists 

Association found that 83 percent of respondents believed 

that Native press coverage of Tribal government affairs 

was sometimes, frequently, or always censored; 

Whereas there are more than 550 Latino news media outlets 

in the United States, which rely primarily on a declining 

advertising revenue base; 

Whereas the lack of local news impacts communities that 

speak languages other than English, which are often excluded from national media coverage; 

Whereas more than 100 local newsrooms have closed during 

the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas 8 percent of surveyed local radio stations reported 

the COVID–19 pandemic ended their local news programs entirely; 

Whereas 30 percent of local television news stations reported 

budget cuts and staff reductions because of the COVID– 

19 pandemic; 


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•SRES 596 IS 

Whereas PEN America proposed ‘‘a major reimagining of the 

local news space’’ in its 2019 call-to-action report, ‘‘Losing the News: The Decimation of Local Journalism and 

the Search for Solutions’’, and called on society and the 

Federal Government to urgently address the alarming demise of local journalism; and 

Whereas, half a century ago, Congress perceived that the 

commercial television industry would not independently 

provide the educational and public interest broadcasting 

that was appropriate and necessary for the country, and, 

informed by an independent report prepared by the Carnegie Commission on Educational Television, created the 

Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which has since ensured that radio and television include public interest 

educational and reporting programs using annually appropriated funds: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates April 2022 as ‘‘Preserving and 

3 Protecting Local News Month’’; 

4 (2) affirms that local news serves an essential 

5 function in the democracy of the United States; 

6 (3) recognizes local news as a public good; and 

7 (4) acknowledges the valuable contributions of 

8 local journalism towards the maintenance of healthy 

9 and vibrant communities. 

Æ 


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