Is the press still free if the government subsidizes it?

We have seen in the past court cases involving a newspaper or media outlet which had published sensitive or classified information, and a judge issuing an injunction to prohibit the publication of that information.

We have been sued before because we had information about a utility given to us from a former CEO – and the utility tried to tell us what we could and couldn’t publish. They had zero idea what was in the information we received, but they were so afraid of it, they sued us. We won.

What if our government could decide what we publish? What if we were state or county run or better yet – funded? When the government begins paying a newspaper’s bills – is it still a free press? Let’s break it down.

The road to h-e-double hockey sticks is paved with good intentions. And we think we see good intentions in the Local Journalism Sustainability Act. Sort of.

Here are the basic points of the bill:

• Credit for advertising in local media: For the first year, businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees can take up to a $5,000 nonrefundable credit, and then a $2,500 credit in the subsequent four years to spend with local media.
• Credit for local newspaper subscriptions. This is a five-year, nonrefundable credit provides every taxpayer up to $250 a year to spend on subscriptions with local news organizations within their market.

That sounds really nice to us. Indeed, it is an incentive for taxpayers to read their local newspaper and for small businesses to advertise in their local newspaper. The tax credit is for the consumer, which we are all for. We need more people to be informed about the government in their communities, what events are going on, and feature stories about their neighbors. We need more people interested in how our taxpayer dollars are being spent.

But here is the beginning of the famous “slippery slope” in the bill:

• Payroll credit for journalist compensation. It provides an incentive for retaining and hiring journalists through a refundable tax credit for the compensation of journalists on wages up to $25,000 in the first year and $15,000 in the subsequent years.

Now they are talking about media companies receiving a tax benefit from the government. Admittedly, it is a small benefit for companies to get a rebate on the taxes they pay on their staff. At what point down the road will the government increase the tax credit and get media companies use to the subsidy? When will they decide that they will fund journalists’ paychecks? Or maybe they will subsidize the print costs of newspapers. What about funding investigative reporting?

If we follow the trail, will the government begin to call news editors and publishers on the side and tell them how they want something reported? Will they threaten to take away subsidies if they don’t report it the way the government wants?

The bill above is fairly innocuous until you get to the part of the newspaper companies receiving a tax credit. It was just reported that New York lawmakers have approved $90 million worth of payroll tax credits to hire local journalists in the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget. There is certainly an argument that payroll tax credits are not nefarious – and not exactly the same as receiving money directly from the government. But how will New York lawmakers feel when the media holds them accountable for their position and spending? Will they threaten to take the incentives away?

We say – keep freedom of the press at every turn. Government money must stay out of the media business. Some less-than-upstanding companies’ coverage can be bought. Our coverage is not for sale. You can’t wave money in front of us and make us follow. Your advertising dollars are welcome here, but our advertising department and our editorial departments do not hold hands.

Freedom – our country is built on it and was founded on it. Our Constitution preserves the free press. It must remain completely free.