Golden State legislator calls for $80 million to help public media

SAN DIEGO (CN) — A California lawmaker wants to inject public media in the state with $80 million, a one-time infusion in response to last year’s federal budget cuts.

Assemblymember Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat, has also proposed a second method to help local media — offering tax credits to qualifying outlets.

Ward announced his proposals Friday in front of his city’s KPBS office. Ward hopes to add the $80 million payment to the state budget. The tax credits are outlined in Assembly Bill 2222, which is currently scheduled for its first committee hearing on April 13.

“Public media is not just programming,” Ward said. “It is critical infrastructure.”

A bill signed last year by President Donald Trump took $1.1 billion from public media funding. An attorney for National Public Radio has called the move retaliation against perceived bias against Trump.

On Friday, Ward said funding is needed to stabilize public media in California. The state is one of 16 that provides no funding for public media, even though it reaches 90% of Californians.

The proposal would direct $60 million to public media, $10 million to infrastructure and another $10 million to ethnic media outlets.

Ward said the proposal is about equity and access, calling public media a trusted source amid growing disinformation.

Deanna Martin Mackey, general manager of KPBS, noted that the station began operating more than 50 years ago and has since grown into a multiplatform outlet with dozens of employees.

The federal cuts put a $4.3 million hole in her budget, and a $30 million gap in public media across the state. At least three outlets risk closure, Mackey said.

“Public media is America’s historian,” she added. “Journalism is worth protecting and independent voices are worth protecting.”

Patricia Dillard, a La Mesa council member, called journalism essential to informing, connecting and engaging communities.

“Funding is critical to stabilize and sustain public media outlets,” she added.

She also pointed to Ward’s bill, which would provide tax credits to qualifying media outlets, as a method for those organizations to hire and keep reporters.

Ward called the bill a targeted, focused solution.

“Thousands of newspapers have closed nationwide,” he said.

The bill would provide tax credits to qualifying taxpayers from 2027 through 2032. Organizations could claim $20,000 for each of their first five journalists and $15,000 for each additional journalist.

They could also receive a $15,000 credit for each new journalism position created.

To qualify, an organization would have to operate a news outlet, publicly disclose its owners or board members, carry media liability insurance and not be exempt from federal income tax.

A new journalism position would be defined as an increase in the number of reporters employed compared with the previous tax year.

Matt Pearce, policy director with Rebuild Local News, said the bill is designed to offset the crisis news organizations are facing. He said local journalism jobs have declined by some 75% over the past 20 years.

The data Pearce referenced comes from a 2025 study conducted by his nonprofit and Muck Rack, which found that over 1,000 counties, or one in three, lack the equivalent of one full-time journalist.

Any legislation calling for increased spending is likely to face a daunting path at the Capitol this year.

California has faced billion-dollar deficits for the past several years. This year, Governor Gavin Newsom said it only had a $3 billion shortfall. The Legislative Analyst’s Office said it’s closer to $18 billion.

The analyst’s office said the difference in the deficit numbers is due to Newsom’s estimate of much higher tax revenues.