The public needs news, so why not offer public funding?

Having worked in local news for 15 years, I’ve seen the challenges facing journalism. Once mighty newspaper chains like Gannett and McClatchy have been reduced to a shell of their former selves, having sold off most of their buildings and printing presses to stay in business.

The few remaining print subscribers are not happy. They don’t like paying higher subscription fees for fewer printed days of delivery, that often arrive mailed in the afternoon or the next day. The actual newspaper itself is a lot smaller. A Sunday newspaper is now the size of a Tuesday newspaper from 20 years ago.

Thankfully, most of these loyal customers, who tend to be older and more civic-minded, will not cancel their subscription, either out of nostalgia or guilt that there won’t be local news coverage if they don’t support it. Without these customers, nearly every major newspaper, which includes the online editions, wouldn’t exist.

With the exception of Hawaii, which has a higher percentage of print newspaper readers, less than 10% of mainland Americans subscribe to a printed newspaper. Sunday print circulation has dropped to below 15 million households, while weekday circulation is less than 8 million households.

Paid digital subscriptions have increased from 3 million to 4 million since 2015. Digital subscriptions are a lot cheaper than print subscriptions, with some customers paying as little as $1 for 6 months of digital as part of a promotion. Replacing $30-a-month print subscribers with pennies-a-day paid digital subscribers is why so many publications are reducing staff, selling buildings, and going out of business.

If that wasn’t bad enough, print newspaper advertising has plummeted, from a high of nearly $50 billion in 2006 to less than $9 billion in 2023. Since 2020, revenue from subscribers exceeded revenue from advertisers, making print media even more reliant on a handful of older Americans.

One answer has been to seek private charity to pay the salaries of journalists who specialize in a specific area like education, environment, and investigative journalism. Charitable donations have increased to $150 million to for-profit and non-profit local news in 2023, with a goal of $1 billion per year.

After losing money every year after buying the Salt Lake Tribune, owner Paul Huntsman converted the entire newspaper into a non-profit in 2019. Most of the daily newspapers in Maine were sold to the non-profit National Trust for Local News. Chicago Public Media, an NPR affiliate, bought the Chicago Sun-Times, with plans to use listener-supported donations to fund the newspaper.

Private charity has its limits. Donations to public charity declined in 2022 due to inflation, stock market volatility and the pandemic. I know firsthand because the Salt Lake Tribune never paid my sales rep for new starts that were written at a rodeo in 2022, the first time I’ve not been paid by a publication for services rendered.

Local journalism needs more money. Private charity alone will not solve this problem. The obvious answer is public funding. Thankfully, there’s already a mechanism in place to pay for local news.

The Presidential Election Fund gives federal matching funds to presidential candidates, in exchange for spending limits. Taxpayers can give $3 from their taxes to the fund by checking a box on the tax form.

Since the 2008 election, neither major presidential candidate has accepted federal matching funds due to the spending limits. Because every presidential nominee since Barack Obama has raised over $1 billion per election cycle, the fund is only used to pay for presidential conventions, which could be paid for by the political parties.

Congress needs to change the Presidential Election Fund to the Journalism Protection Fund. Increase the amount from $3 to $10 and make it a check-off box. Supplement the fund to bring the total per year to $13 billion.

Every American household would receive a $100 voucher per year, which could be redeemed for six months of print newspaper, a year of digital, or a donation to a local newspaper. Eligible newspapers must be in business five years prior to the voucher year and publish at least once a week in print.

Why $13 billion? Only about 10 percent of the 130 million American households will use the $100 Journalism Vouchers each year. The hope is that as more people use the vouchers, additional funding will be provided.

$13 billion a year would nearly double the current $19 billion in revenue generated by the entire newspaper industry. This money will pay for upgraded technology to better serve digital customers and increase pay for journalists, who currently earn poverty wages. More journalists means more coverage of local governments, local schools, local events and local human interest stories.

As someone who sells newspaper subscriptions for a living, it breaks my heart when I meet people who really want to subscribe but can’t afford it. A lot of older Americans are on fixed incomes and cannot afford smart phones or computers, let alone another bill for internet access, if they even know how to use technology. This voucher program gives them local news so that they become part of the community again.

The Washington Post likes to remind everyone that “Democracy Dies in the Dark.” Voting dies behind a paywall. All Americans should have access to local news in order to have an informed vote about local candidates. You shouldn’t have to pay to be an informed voter and $100 Journalism Vouchers solve this problem.

I’m well aware that the far right is going to scream “Socialism!” when they see this idea. I don’t care. Nobody really knows what socialism is anymore, other than it’s whatever they don’t like. Major corporations, defense contractors, and outright fraud consume billions in tax revenue every year — $13 billion is a small price to pay to fund journalism, and by extension democracy.

Ryan Cooper runs a newspaper kiosk sales team that works in multiple states for multiple publications.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: The public needs news. Public funding can ensure they get it.