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Guest Column:
Are you reading your own websites By Jim Pumarlo
Arkansas Press Association
Publisher Weekly Vol. 15 | No. 20 | Thursday, May 14, 2020 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
Congress considering more aid for local newspapers Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, announced this week he has cosponsored legislation to expand eligibility for newspapers to obtain forgivable small business loans under the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
Boozman helped introduce the Local News and Emergency Information Act on Wednesday. The proposal makes newspapers eligible for federal PPP loans based on the sizes of their individual outlets, rather than the total number of employees throughout a newspaper corporation. That means that a 30-person newspaper in Arkansas that’s part of a 1,000-plus employee newspaper chain could be eligible for loans. Under the existing structure, that individual newspaper would not. “Arkansans rely on the quality coverage we receive from our local newspapers, television affiliates and radio stations to remain informed throughout this crisis. Local newsrooms are reporting important details residents need that are not included in national coverage. At a time when we need this communication more than ever, these outlets are suffering from a dramatic reduction in advertising revenue leading to decisions to downsize, furlough workers or close. Ensuring the viability of local news outlets is critical to maintaining access to information,” Boozman said. The Arkansas Press Association and other trade associations in the state and at the federal level encouraged Boozman and other members of the state’s congressional delegation to support the bill.
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Sen. John Boozman
Two more Arkansas newspapers receive Facebook grants The Facebook Journalism Project announced earlier this month that two Arkansas newspapers were recipients of grants to support their efforts to inform readers and support their communities. The Arkansas publications were among 200 local newsrooms that received $16 million in grants. The Madison County Record in Huntsville was awarded a grant of $49,000 from Facebook via the social media corporation’s COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program. The grant awards ranging
from $25,000 to $100,000 were selected through a process led by the Local Media Association and Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Of the recipients, more than four in five are family- or independentlyowned newspapers.
applications on a tight timeline both illustrated the depth of need, but also highlighted the innovation that these small, independent publishers can provide for their communities when given the resources.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the critical role local news plays in our communities, while simultaneously threatening their very existence,” said Jonathan Kealing, chief network officer with the Institute for Nonprofit News in the news release announcing the grants. “Reviewing hundreds of
Facebook awarded $75,000 to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette from its Local News Accelerator Program. According to Facebook, the Accelerator Program supports local news businesses that are transforming to reader, or subscriber, driven business models. The DemocratGazette last year launched its iPad initiative, providing subscribers with an iPad to read the Monday through Saturday editions and suspending the print edition and home delivery on those days.