Opinion: D.C. must invest in local news
The need for public investment in local journalism is dire. The Local News Funding Act would support vital sources of information in D.C.
Today, American news outlets are facing an existential threat the size of which we haven’t seen in decades. President Donald Trump has been trying to force national outlets into submission through frivolous lawsuits and revoking access to the White House, while Congressional Republicans voted to defund public broadcasting grants, calling the birthplace of Sesame Street the “Anti-American Airways.”
Corporate interference is also threatening reporters’ ability to keep communities informed. Across the country, local newspapers, TV stations, and radio stations have shuttered or been bought out by billionaire owners and telecommunications conglomerates that have laid off thousands of local reporters and shrunk local news coverage – including here in D.C., as the city faces unprecedented threats to Home Rule.
More than ever, it’s essential that we take action to preserve the District of Columbia’s most vital sources of local news.
That’s why I’ve introduced the Local News Funding Act of 2025, legislation that addresses the challenges facing local journalism in the District. When local outlets shrink, studies have shown that there are profound repercussions for local politics. Fewer candidates run for office. It’s harder for constituents to know what their elected leaders are doing – and as a result, politicians become less responsive to the people who elected them.
The Local News Funding Act creates a system where residents decide which news outlets receive public grants through "news coupons." Each registered voter receives five news coupons through a secure online system that can be allocated to any news outlet registered with a new Community Journalism Board. Each coupon represents a fraction of the total grant funding available. If more residents allocate coupons to a particular outlet, that outlet receives a larger share of the funding.
To participate, news outlets must register with the Board and meet basic requirements: reporting news as their primary activity, making local news available for free to District residents, clearly distinguishing news from advertising, and disclosing their ownership structure. Grant recipients could include local sections of newspapers, community-focused outlets, radio stations, podcasters, independent journalists, and digital platforms.
The bill allocates 0.1% of the District's general fund budget, approximately $11.6 million based on FY25 figures, for this program. The legislation also establishes a Community Journalism Board to administer the program and provide development grants for technical support and training.
The need for public investment in local journalism is dire. Research on the local media landscape has found that 40 percent of all local TV outlets are owned by Gray Television, Nexstar Media Group, and Sinclair Broadcast Group, and 15 percent of newspapers are owned by the five largest local newspaper chains. While rural communities have been most impacted by the loss of local news coverage, Washingtonians have not been immune. Layoffs at the Washington Post have reduced the paper's Metro coverage. WAMU slashed its local newsroom from 14 reporters in 2023 to just four the next year, and shuttered the beloved local news site DCist in 2024.
Local journalism plays an important role in keeping communities informed about local government, schools, and issues that affect residents' daily lives. This legislation allows residents to support the local news sources they find valuable while helping sustain local journalism at a time when outlets and their funding are under partisan attack. If we fail to invest in these vital resources at the heart of our community identity, we may find they no longer exist.
When I first introduced the Local News Funding Act alongside Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau two years ago, there were troubling signs on the horizon for local journalism. Two years later, there's an all-out assault on our news institutions, making local news more important than ever. I urge the Committee on Business and Economic Development and Committee of the Whole to hold hearings this fall on this critical bill, and ask my D.C. Council colleagues to join me in preserving local journalism by supporting the Local News Funding Act.
