IN THE TIME BEFORE CELLPHONES, local news outlets relied heavily on advertising for most of their income. In recent decades, much of that advertising has moved to platforms like Google and Facebook and so has local news content. The tech companies could repost local news for free, drawing eyes (and customers) away from local news websites. 

This week, two efforts to redirect those advertising profits back into local newsrooms are calling on the California Legislature to hear their proposals. Sept. 12 is the last day to pass bills in the Legislature, and the governor will sign the budget a month later. 

Continue reading for FREE

This is NOT a paywall. We just want to make sure you’re a human. Sign in to read this story and receive the weekly roundup in your inbox.

Or

Terms & Conditions

Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in.
Please visit My Account to manage your account.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.