United States Senator Bob Casey is one of the national lawmakers calling for funding to support local journalism and media through the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of 20 senators issued a letter to Senate leadership that warns of the effect drastically reduced ad revenue could have on regional news organizations that many communities rely on especially for accurate local health information.
Some local news outlets have had to lay-off or furlough staff resulting in many communities being poorly informed or misinformed during a critical time when residents need to know about information like local testing locations, hospital capacities, and shelter-in-place orders.
Casey and his colleagues point out that these journalists are essential workers and need to be supported through specific targeted stimulus relief before this critical source of information is a casualty of the crisis.