Proposal seeks to boost local and ethnic media

State agencies would be required to spend at least half of their print and digital advertising on space in local community and ethnic media outlets under a measure announced Monday by state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha.

The bill is meant to boost both local media as well as bolster language access. Lawmakers pointed to Census data showing nearly a quarter of New York residents, including 37% of New York City residents, are foreign born.

About 30% of New York state residents have a primary language that is not English.

“Queens is well known for being the world’s borough, with roughly 200 languages and dialects spoken. With that, we also have a thriving local media ecosystem that speaks directly to the many communities we serve,” Ramos said. “This most recent budget expanded state services - like an increase in child care eligibility that includes undocumented families, apprenticeship programs, and an expanded working families tax credit. The many worker protections, social benefits, and state resources we create and authorize in the legislature often miss the populations who need them most."

State agencies like the Department of Labor or the state Department of Health would be required to devote half of their ad budgets to media organizations that serve as local news and are ethnic media.

This is not the only measure meant to address local news. More broadly, lawmakers have proposed temporary tax credits to offset the hiring of journalists by local media outlets in New York.

“We live in an opaque democracy that discourages many from tapping into the political processes that govern our lives. And this is made all the worse by the lack of critical public notices in local and ethnic media that are much more actively read by members of our community," Shrestha said. "As a non-native English speaker myself, and as someone who believes in the value of community media, I’m thrilled to carry this bill in the Assembly."