How Can You Support Local News? Email Your Governor.
By Nora Benavidez, PEN America
Local news is suffering across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mass business closures around the country, resulting from a hollowing out of the advertising revenue which sustains much of the financing for local news media. As a result, many outlets have had to lay off employees, cut print editions, or even shut down altogether.
Yet at this confusing and uncertain time, local news organizations are needed now more than ever. They are reporting firsthand on the effects of the pandemic in our communities, as well as relaying government orders and well-sourced medical advice. Even as revenue is drying up, online viewership has surged as people seek out critical and trustworthy information.
PEN America, along with partner allies including Common Cause and Free Press, recently sent letters to governors in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, urging state leaders to provide emergency aid to local news outlets.
Now, we need your help to ensure that local journalism in your state survives the severe economic fallout from the pandemic.
Please contact your governor to encourage the inclusion of local journalism in your state’s economic recovery plans. Here are five things you can tell your state leaders when you email them:
- Urge them to provide emergency funds targeted at preserving newsrooms and reporting jobs at local commercial and nonprofit news outlets
- Ask your governor to voice their support for federal stimulus funds to include carve-outs for local media outlets and reporters
- Petition for state investments to address the civic-information needs of communities most impacted by the long-term decline of local news and the spread of news deserts — including communities of color, immigrant communities, Indigenous communities, rural communities, and working-class communities
- Push for increased state spending on public health and other government advertising, prioritizing local and community media
- Encourage safeguards to ensure that public funding does not impinge on the editorial independence of any news organization and supports a free local press
And if you don’t know who to email, we’ve done the work for you.
Alabama
Governor Kay Ivey
Chief of Staff Jo Bonner
Alaska
Governor Mike Dunleavy
Chief of Staff Ben Stevens
Arizona
Governor Doug Ducey
Chief of Staff Daniel Scarpinato
Arkansas
Governor Asa Hutchinson
Chief of Staff Allison Williams
California
Governor Gavin Newsom
Chief of Staff Ann O’Leary
Colorado
Governor Jared Polis
Chief of Staff Lisa Kaufman
Connecticut
Governor Ned Lamont
Chief of Staff Paul Mounds
Delaware
Governor John Carney
Chief of Staff Sheila Grant
District of Columbia
Mayor Muriel Bowser
Chief of Staff John Falcicchio
Florida
Governor Ron DeSantis
Chief of Staff Shane Strum
Georgia
Governor Brian Kemp
Chief of Staff Tim Fleming
Hawaii
Governor David Ige
Chief of Staff Linda Chu
Idaho
Governor Brad Little
Chief of Staff Zach Hauge
Illinois
Governor J. B. Pritzker
Chief of Staff Anne Capara
Indiana
Governor Eric Holcolmb
Chief of Staff Earl Goode
Iowa
Governor Kim Reynolds
Chief of Staff Sara Craig Gongol
Kansas
Governor Laura Kelly
Chief of Staff Will Lawrence
Kentucky
Governor Andy Beshear
Chief of Staff Latasha Buckner
Louisiana
Governor John Bel Edwards
Chief of Staff Mark Cooper
Maine
Governor Janet Mills
Chief of Staff Jeremy Kennedy
Maryland
Governor Larry Hogan
Chief of Staff Matt Clark
Massachusetts
Governor Charlie Baker
Chief of Staff Kristen Lepore
Michigan
Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Chief of Staff JoAnne Huls
Minnesota
Governor Tim Walz
Chief of Staff Chris Schmitter
Mississippi
Governor Tate Reeves
Chief of Staff Brad White
Missouri
Governor Mike Parson
Chief of Staff Aaron Willard
Montana
Governor Steve Bullock
Chief of Staff Ali Bovington
Nebraska
Governor Pete Ricketts
Chief of Staff Matt Mittenberger
Nevada
Governor Steve Sisolak
Chief of Staff Michelle White
New Hampshire
Governor Chris Sununu
Chief of Staff Jayne Millerick
New Jersey
Governor Phil Murphy
Chief of Staff George Helmy
New Mexico
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham
Senior Advisor Dominic Gabello
New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo
Chief of Staff Jill DesRosiers
North Carolina
Governor Roy Cooper
Chief of Staff Kristi Jones
North Dakota
Governor Doug Burgum
Chief Administrative Officer Jodee Hanson
Ohio
Governor Mike DeWine
Chief of Staff Laurel Dawson
Oklahoma
Governor Kevin Stitt
Chief of Staff Michael Junk
Oregon
Governor Kate Brown
Chief of Staff Nik Blosser
Pennsylvania
Governor Tom Wolf
Chief of Staff Mike Brunelle
Rhode Island
Governor Gina Raimondo
Senior Advisor Daniel Connors
South Carolina
Governor Henry McMaster
Chief of Staff Trey Walker
South Dakota
Governor Kristi Noem
Chief of Staff Tony Venhuizen
Tennessee
Governor Bill Lee
Chief of Staff Blake Harris
Texas
Governor Greg Abbott
Chief of Staff Luis Saenz
Utah
Governor Gary Herbert
Chief of Staff Justin Harding
Vermont
Governor Phil Scott
Chief of Staff Jason Gibbs
Virgina
Governor Ralph Northam
Chief of Staff Clark Mercer
Washington
Governor Jay Inslee
Chief of Staff David Postman
West Virginia
Governor Jim Justice
Chief of Staff Mike Hall
Wisconsin
Governor Tony Evers
Chief of Staff Maggie Gau
Wyoming
Governor Mark Gordon
Chief of Staff Buck McVeigh
Nora Benavidez is the director of U.S. Free Expression Programs, where she guides PEN America’s national advocacy agenda on First Amendment and free expression issues.
