Golden State Today

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has approved a resolution aimed at enhancing the relationship between local media and city departments. The initiative encourages increased support and resources for community and ethnic journalism outlets, which have historically been overlooked in terms of city advertising funding.

The resolution suggests that city departments allocate at least half of their advertising budgets to locally-owned community and ethnic media outlets, following similar policies in New York and Chicago. Additionally, it calls for public reporting on the distribution of ad money spent annually in these publications.

This move aligns with recommendations from California Common Cause's report, "Local Voices on Local News: Community Perspectives and Policy Recommendations for Strengthening San Francisco’s Journalism Ecosystem." Maya Chupkov from California Common Cause emphasized the importance of local news, stating, “Local news is critical to our democracy, and we know that San Franciscans are hungry for more.”

Introduced by Supervisor Matt Dorsey on March 5, the resolution aims to address information gaps affecting diverse communities due to current advertising spending practices. Dorsey remarked, “Democracy depends on robust independent journalism...we’re expanding on our City’s commitment to its diverse communities by supporting the diverse community-based journalism that’s part of it.”

A 2023 report revealed only seven out of 98 media outlets in San Francisco receive city advertising. The new resolution seeks to redefine "ethnic and community media" as locally owned or run outlets with significant readership among San Franciscans and dedicated staff producing original content.

Michael Yamashita from the Bay Area Reporter expressed support for this investment in local media: “This investment in local media has proven successful in New York and Chicago...” The Budget Analyst report highlighted challenges such as ad placements through third-party vendors not being categorized correctly within the city's financial system.

Research indicates insufficient support for local news can lead to political polarization and misinformation spread. Ethnic media are recognized as trusted communicators with hard-to-reach communities. Jesse Garnier from San Francisco State University noted the significance of supporting these voices: “There’s no higher calling than creating resources for these crucial, trusted voices working to inform and connect our communities.”

Stuart Schuffman from Broke-Ass Stuart added that online hyperlocal news sites play a vital role: “Hyperlocal online news sites are trusted sources who can share critical information via social media more effectively.”

An event hosted by California Common Cause will discuss their findings further on March 13 at 6:30 p.m., both online and in person.