New Jersey just became the first state to help revive local news

On Aug 24, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed a law that aims to fill the local news void in New Jersey by creating the Civic Information Consortium, a grant-making organization led by a group of universities that would fund media start-ups. Supporters have said this is the first endeavor of its kind in the nation. But Gov Murphy's signing statement raised doubt about how much money they state immediately could dedicate to the cause. The legislation called for $5 million from the Trust Fund for the Support of Public Broadcasting, but "far less than $5 million remains available" in the fund, Gov Murphy's statement said. "[M]ost, if not all” of the money for the Consortium was used to fund federally mandated repairs and capital projects for the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority. The civic information consortium was to be financed by a portion of the $332 million sale from two of New Jersey’s public broadcasting licenses. According to Gov Murphy, former NJ Gov Chris Christie diverted most of the proceeds to the general fund in the 2018 budget, which is why the state could not afford to finance the civic information consortium. Jennifer Sciortino, a treasury spokesperson, said that only $6.3 million was left of the $322 million, and that it was being used for "critical capital needs and emergency repairs."


N.J. just became the first state to help revive local news Money lacking for newly signed local media bill, Gov. Murphy says (NJ Biz) Gov Murphy's (D-NJ) statement upon signing the Civic Information Consortium bill (read the statement)