This week brought very good news for local communities across Los Angeles County.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2222, the Community NEWS Act, creating a new refundable tax credit to help qualify local news organizations to retain journalists and create new journalism jobs beginning in 2027. The credit is tied to the number of qualifying journalists a local news organization employs, with additional support available for new journalism positions, and applies across qualifying digital, print and broadcast outlets.
The LA Local was proud to join a broad coalition of California newsrooms, journalists, labor organizations and journalism advocates supporting this legislation. That coalition included LAist, CalMatters, the California News Publishers Association, SAG-AFTRA, the NewsGuild-CWA, the American Journalism Project and many others.
Passage of the act affirms the broad and growing support for creating and protecting local news. Since launching earlier this year, we are proud to have added 29 newsroom jobs. Our staff reflects Los Angeles and are deeply rooted in the communities they cover.
Based on our current newsroom, we estimate the new credit could potentially strengthen our organization by hundreds of thousands of dollars. This final amount will depend on eligibility and implementation of the new law, but its potential is significant.
Those dollars translate into news and information that residents use to help LA realize its potential. The support comes at a pivotal moment for the region, which is experiencing a housing and affordability crisis, along with cuts to Medi-Cal and CalFresh. Our reporters work with community members to help them navigate these challenges, while also finding moments of joy and connection. Connection is at the heart of The LA Local, and studies are showing how big of a problem that is for our communities and how work like ours can help against it.
Recent research found that counties that became local news deserts experienced a decline in voter turnout and an increase in polarization.1 Another 2026 study found that loneliness is higher in states with fewer local news options and that people who rarely consume local journalism report greater loneliness than regular local news consumers.2
We were proud to support AB 2222 and we’re grateful that Governor Newsom signed it into law. We’re excited about what this investment could make possible for local news not just for The LA Local, but for media partners across California and here at home in Los Angeles and Long Beach. And most importantly, what it means for the residents across the communities we serve.
You can read more about this exciting news here.
