About this project
This project started in 2025. It endeavors to identify every statutory effort state lawmakers have made to support local journalism. The database includes state legislation introduced in 2017 or later and draws from each state legislature’s official online records.
We searched every state legislature’s database for bills using the keywords “journalism”, “media”, and “local journalism”. From there, we categorized the bills based on three aspects: whether the bill was successful, the type of support lawmakers sought to provide, and the scope of the support. The outcome status refers to whether the bill was enacted (became a law) or not. The type of support the bill proposes may include compensation from digital platforms, fellowships and grants, small-business advertising credits, state advertising contracts, task forces or commissions, and tax credits or exemptions. To capture the full legislative conversation, we registered every identified effort to support local journalism, including failed bills and enacted laws.
The resource is generally limited to specific legislative bills intended to support local journalism. Budget line items and grants that were provided by states to support journalism, for example, might not be included in this resource.
About the research team
This project was conducted with financial support from the Reynolds Journalism Institute. Jared Schroeder, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, organized the project and Zivile Raskauskaite, a doctoral candidate, gathered, wrote, and organized much of the information. If you have questions about this project, email jcschroeder@missouri.edu.
About the Reynolds Journalism Institute
The Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) was launched in 2004 with a grant of $31 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. In conjunction with the centennial celebration of the Missouri School of Journalism, RJI’s headquarters were opened in September 2008.
Our 50,000 square-foot facility on the University of Missouri campus has state-of-the-art resources to test and implement new technologies, experiment with new approaches to producing, designing and delivering news, information and advertising – and to host conferences, training and workshops for journalists. RJI’s work crosses diverse specialties within journalism, including editorial content and methods, the evolution of advertising, innovation in management and the impact of new technologies. It also includes varied fields on campus such as law, computer science, marketing, education and other disciplines. In 2012, the Foundation awarded RJI a $30.1 million endowment gift to guarantee permanent funding to pursue innovation, collaboration and research in media industries.