Rockford Sun

A bill that aims to identify and improve areas underserved by local journalism passed the Senate with strong bipartisan support yesterday among hundreds of other bills as the legislature downshifts to bring this year's session to a close. 

Senate Bill 134 creates the Local Journalism Task Force, a group of 10 people that will include local journalism educators, press group representation, General Assembly members and one governor appointee. The task force will study the underserved areas and generate strategies to improve quality local news access, more financially viable business models for local media outlets and make suggestions for public policy solutions. 

State Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford), a former television reporter and anchor himself before joining the General Assembly, sponsored the bill. According to a post by the senator, the task force will include representation from the Illinois Broadcasters Association and the Illinois Legislative Correspondents. 

“As a former journalist and news anchor, I know how important it is to have access to truly local news,” Stadelman said in a March 25 Illinois Senate Democrats article. “People deserve to know what’s happening in their communities, regardless of where they live.”

With the emergence of digital media and national trust in many news platforms at an all-time low, newsrooms have already been fighting an uphill battle. A continuous decline in advertising from local businesses and dwindling circulation numbers have led to almost half of all newspaper jobs disappearing since 2004. 

SB134 cleared the Senate with a 57-0 vote. Once signed into law, the task force has until Jan. 1, 2023 to get the findings of its study on the governor's desk. 

“Your address should not dictate the quality and type of information you have access to,” Stadelman said. “This measure is meant to start a conversation and provide new ideas to help address shrinking press coverage in our communities.”