For those seeking legislative action that can help resuscitate an anemic business climate for those in the local journalism business, perhaps an eye on the Empire State should be given. Gov. Kathy Hochul has given her thumbs up to a first-of-its kind tax credit for jobs in the journalism field, which was incorporated into the New York State budget for 2025.
The FY 2025 Enacted Budget, passed by the New York State Legislature this weekend, is a $237 billion endeavour that Hochul says “makes record investments in the people of New York without raising income taxes.”
And, as part of the “historic investments to drive innovation” in the state of New York, Hochul signed off on $30 million in tax relief to support newspaper and broadcast journalism jobs.
The NewsGuild-CWA has been pushing for the legislation since 2022, along with other local and national groups active in New York.
And, the inclusion of the tax credits in omnibus legislation comes following the introduction of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act in Albany; it is similar to the unsuccessful Journalism Competition and Preservation Act still awaiting a Congressional vote on the federal level.
Specifically, $30 million in tax credits each year over three years would be offered by New York State, covering half of a journalist’s salary up to $50,000 each year. Publishers would only be able to use these employment tax credits to rebuild their newsrooms by hiring new reporters and retaining current staff, NewsGuild-CWA reports.
The bill allocates $4 million to incentivize print and broadcast media outlets to hire new journalists, while the remaining $26 million will be divided equally between media outlets with fewer than 100 employees and those with more than 100 employees, La Voce di New York, an Italian-language news organization that stands to benefit from the legislation, says.
