On BronxNet’s In the District, host Javier E. Gomez interviewed Jim Heaney, editor and executive director of The Investigative Post, about efforts to expand state support for nonprofit local news amid steep newsroom cuts.

Heaney, a longtime newspaper reporter who founded The Investigative Post in 2012, said newspapers have lost most of their reporting staffs over the past two decades and estimated "up to three quarters of journalism jobs in newspapers have disappeared," linking the drop to shrinking newspaper revenues and staff cuts. He added that the loss of local coverage contributes to lower civic participation and increases the risk of corruption: "Journalism is critical to a functioning democracy," Heaney said.

The guests discussed a 2024 New York program that offers tax credits to privately owned newspapers and select television stations intended to preserve newsroom jobs. Heaney described the incentive as "about $25,000 per employee per year" for eligible for-profit outlets and explained why nonprofit outlets were excluded: nonprofits generally do not pay corporate taxes and therefore cannot receive tax credits under the state tax code.

To address that gap, Heaney said a coalition of roughly 20 nonprofit digital outlets in New York—along with public broadcasters and public-access channels—has been working with the national organization Rebuild Local News on a proposal that would provide grants to nonprofit outlets rather than tax credits. "It would be in the form of grants," Heaney said, adding that grants should include "no strings attached" to preserve editorial independence. He argued that firewalls, like those used by NPR and PBS, can protect newsrooms that accept public funds.

Heaney framed the proposed program as modest relative to the state budget: "It's a budget in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And our program is, I think, no more than 15,000,000 a year." He said the coalition submitted the proposal to the Hochul administration in hopes it will be included in the governor’s executive budget in January, which would improve its chances of being adopted by the legislature during the spring budget process.

Heaney also cited an international comparison, noting that European Union countries collectively spend in excess of $5,000,000,000 a year on public media and arguing that investment in journalism correlates with strong democratic performance in those countries. He pointed to growth in the nonprofit digital media sector nationally, saying there were fewer than 30 nonprofit digital outlets 15 years ago and now "there are now over 500."

Heaney urged listeners to contact their state legislators to express support for public financing of nonprofit local media. The program concluded with the host thanking Heaney and directing viewers to BronxNet.org and YouTube for more information.

The interview recorded factual details about the existing tax-credit program, the coalition’s proposal for grant funding, a projected program cost of about $15 million a year, and a suggested timeline tied to the governor’s executive budget and the state’s budget process.