The National Association of Broadcasters and the News Media Alliance are lobbying Congress to change the rules around small business loan programs in an effort to expand the number of media outlets eligible to apply.
According to Politico, the trade groups want to push the Small Business Administration to allow publishing and broadcasting companies with more than 500 employees to be able to apply for loans as long as each station or publication doesn’t have more than a certain number of employees. The cut-off for what is considered a small business floats around a company that employs 500 people.
Earlier this month, a handful of senators wrote a letter to Senate leadership requesting that local newspapers, radio stations, and TV broadcasters be included in future relief packages offering relief to businesses hurting amid the coronavirus pandemic. The letter, sent on April 18 to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, was signed off by two Republicans and two Democrats, including former presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat; Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat; John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican; and John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican.
“Local newspapers and broadcasters have been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, are essential for maintaining a well-informed public, and deserve our help,” the letter reads.
Due to the economic hardship brought on by the pandemic, advertising revenue for news outlets have plummeted, prompting much of local media to turn its focus to a largely subscription-driven consumer model.
Poynter Institute, a nonprofit journalism and media education organization, reports 33,000 U.S. journalists have been laid off, furloughed, or given pay cuts since the COVID-19 virus outbreak.
News outlets that have already received federal loans include the Seattle Times, the Tampa Bay Times, and Axios. Other regional and local papers such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune did not qualify.
Jim VandeHei, the co-founder and CEO of Axios, who also helped found Politico, announced the company would return a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program given to prevent employee layoffs. VandeHei said the decision came due to the company nearing a deal for an alternative source of revenue.
“Some critics say media companies like ours should not qualify, period,” VandeHei said.
Less than a year after Axios was founded in 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported the company raised $20 million for a newsroom expansion. The news site is widely considered a leader in digital media, challenging the traditional model of news consumption, but its qualification for federal aid has been seen as controversial.
The proposal put forth by the media trade groups would give publishers and broadcasters a similar exemption to restaurants and hotels in the first relief bill approved and signed by President Trump.
