New York state lawmakers plan to hand out tens of millions in taxpayer dollars to local media outlets to help pay for journalists’ salaries.
The state will dole out $30 million over three years to local media outlets in the form of tax credits, giving publishers the ability to offset up to 50% of the first $50,000 in journalists’ salaries, according to a Tuesday release from New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.
Heastie emphasized that the funds will go toward protecting local news outlets for “many years to come.”
“Local journalism plays an essential role in our communities,” Heastie said in the release. “Not only does it provide critical coverage of local elections, but it also joins communities together through a shared knowledge of high school sports teams, new businesses coming to the area, and issues impacting readers’ everyday…
