California lawmakers say they want to save journalism. They must not leave out vital local news sources.

At inewsource, we distinguish ourselves by independence, neutrality and fierce dedication to public service journalism. As part of that brand, we don’t give our opinions, but today I’m advocating for the very survival of local news.

I submitted the letter below to the California Senate Judiciary Committee as it gathered testimony yesterday in Los Angeles about the state of journalism in California. The hearing was against the backdrop of pending legislation, called the California Journalism Preservation Act, which would require big tech giants to pay publishers a fee for posting content. The concept is sound; its proposed execution is not. I agree with changes advocated by Rebuild Local News, a national nonprofit, articulated in my letter.

The Act was not up for action yesterday. Rather, its members were presented with statistics quantifying the decline of local news and the proliferation of “news deserts,” which lack even one newspaper. They heard from publishers, economists and journalism associations. A representative of Google contributed. Meta officials did not attend.

A strong case was championed by many yesterday that local news is the lifeblood of any community. It informs and makes participation in democracy possible. That’s the message the legislators need to remember as they return to Sacramento.

To the California Judiciary Committee,

My name is Lorie Hearn. I am the founder, CEO and Editor of inewsource, an investigative reporting nonprofit based in San Diego.

I have worked for five traditional newspapers over my career and founded inewsource 14 years ago when major downsizing began at this region’s Metro, the San Diego Union-Tribune. It was in the wake of the newspaper’s first sale after family ownership for decades. Since that time, the Union-Tribune has changed hands five times, most recently in July to MediaNews Group, an affiliate of Alden Global Capital.

Over the past two decades, owners of the Union-Tribune, viewed as the foundation of local news in San Diego County, have slowly bled the newsroom. Where once the Copley family newspaper employed more than 400 newsroom staff, today there are far fewer than 100, responsible for hard news, sports, arts, business, photography, editing and more.

For perspective, there are nearly 3.4 million people living in this vast county of more than 4,200 square miles. There are 18 incorporated cities, 42 school districts, more than 30 water districts – to name some of the highest profile public agencies responsible for setting policy and spending tax dollars. Our border with Mexico spans more than 140 miles, making San Diego one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse places in the nation.

I resigned my job as the Senior Editor for Metro and Watchdog Journalism at the Union-Tribune to start inewsource because I believed back in 2009 that investigative journalism was the most endangered of all journalism. I could not imagine that the landscape could get more desperate. But today, we are in crisis across the board in local news.

inewsource is one of two local nonprofit newsrooms in the region, outside of public media. We strive to cover pressing issues, such as the border, environment, diversity in education, infrastructure and overall government accountability, and we often punch above our weight and stretch to cover important issues in neighboring Imperial County, home to 180,000 people and a dearth of local news. At inewsource, we push every day to raise money to support more reporting resources, but still struggle to meet the surging needs.

inewsource has grown slowly and consistently over the past 14 years, supporting a $2.5 million budget in the 2024 fiscal year mostly through philanthropy from individuals and foundations. We have a staff of 17, including six reporters, a photojournalist, two editors, an illustrator/cartoonist and a program manager who runs our new Documenters initiative that enlists citizens to attend and document public meetings.

Our greatest measure of success in serving the region is our impact. The following examples of impact would not have been realized if inewsource had not existed:

• inewsource revealed the local Housing Commission has been approving rent hikes for low-income tenants in the federal Section 8 housing program without checking to see if they comply with the California Tenant Protection Act, which caps rent increases for many properties at 10% in San Diego. At least one top official is calling for increases to be clawed back, and the commission is considering denying future requests for increases.
• San Diego County changed its public-facing COVID-19 vaccine policy to make it easier for individuals without a photo ID to get vaccinated following an inewsource investigation.
• inewsource told the story of California farmers in high fire-risk areas like San Diego County’s backcountry being dropped by insurance companies at increasingly high rates, seriously threatening San Diego County’s $1.8 billion agricultural industry. Our reporting contributed to a new state law that made farmers eligible to insure their buildings against fire damage.
• An inewsource investigation revealed widespread drug use in the once-renowned Veterans Village of San Diego rehab program for struggling vets. Our reporter also found violence, a severe staffing shortage and multiple overdoses. Veterans Village receives more than $17 million a year in government funding, which supports rehabilitation, employment, housing and other services. Our reporting prompted state and federal investigations and a freeze on new admissions by county officials. Its chief operating officer resigned.

Thanks to the California legislature’s $25 million bill approved in 2022, inewsource is able to cover energy and the environment – one of the region’s most important beats – through the California Local News Fellowship. Reporter Philip Salata joined inewsource in September and already he has told impactful stories illuminating Lithium Valley’s potential effects in Imperial County, examining aging pipelines resulting in sewage spills and revealing an algae predator invading San Diego Bay.

As the legislature considers future policies, I urge lawmakers to prioritize the needs and value of local news outlets, like inewsource. We are the lifeblood of our communities, informing and enabling our citizens to actively participate in their democracy.

Here are examples of actions to consider:

• The legislature could improve the California Journalism Preservation Act by including a guaranteed minimum payment, which would give local news outlets in California, regardless of in- or out-of-state ownership, $25,000 per employee or full-time equivalent up to $150,000. Such a provision would ensure local news outlets benefit substantially from the scheme.
• Rep. Miguel Santiago has introduced AB 1511, a bill that would allocate a
  portion of government advertising dollars to local news outlets. A similar policy in New York City directed millions of dollars to community and ethnic news outlets in the city. A similar policy in California could offer immediate benefits to outlets working to inform their communities.
• California could also consider the local journalism employee retention tax credit,
  which would give local news outlets a refundable tax credit equal to a portion of
  the salary of each journalist on staff. A version of this policy passed the U.S.
  House of Representatives and could be further improved in California to better
  encourage the hiring and retention of journalists.
• Several other states have introduced policies that would incentivize small
  businesses, either via a grant or a tax credit, to advertise in local news outlets.
  This policy would not only support local businesses, which have faced their own
  set of challenges from COVID closures, to inflation to rising costs of labor, but it would also strengthen local news outlets’ most vital revenue stream: local advertising.

Thank you to the California Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Umberg, Asm.
Wicks and the entire California legislature for its continued attention to this important
issue. At stake is not just our jobs and our newsrooms, but the health of California
communities.

Sincerely,
Lorie Hearn
CEO/Editor
Investigative Newsource dba inewsource