Businesses would get a tax credit for money spent on advertising in New Hampshire-based media outlets under a bill being drafted for the state Legislature to consider next year.

Rep. Kristine Perez, R-Londonderry, said in an interview Wednesday that her proposal could help newsrooms stay afloat.

“All these little newspapers are shutting down because they can’t get advertising,” she said. “This is to try to keep them going because there is a whole group of people who depend on them to keep abreast of what’s happening.

“You know, people don’t have the time to go to public meetings, and they don’t want to sit and watch them online a lot of times. So we have to depend on small newspapers that are geared toward your area.”

Almost 40% of all local U.S. newspapers have gone out of business since 2005, according to the “State of Local News” report this year by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. The report tracks 8,000 news outlets in the country, including the more than 5,400 remaining newspapers as well as digital sites, ethnic and foreign language organizations and public broadcasters.

The school’s research attributes the decline in the newspaper industry to falling advertising revenue, a shift to digital news consumption, rising production costs and business consolidation, among other factors.     

The report, which includes a county-by-county map, found that 213 U.S. counties lack consistent local reporting. Sullivan County joined the list when The Eagle Times suspended operations in June. 

Perez acknowledged that the credit on state business taxes would come at a cost.

“But I cannot see this being a huge dent in our revenue,” she said. “And, it’s cost-effective. Even if it does cost us something, it is important to maintain these newspapers.”

She said her proposal came at the request of one of her constituents Deb Paul, publisher of The Londonderry Times.

Paul said she got the idea after talking to other publishers and learning a number of states have adopted measures to try to sustain local journalism, including tax incentives.

She said local journalists serve an important role in keeping government officials throughout the state accountable for their actions.

“The public needs to know what their local government and state government are doing,” Paul said. “They also need to know what services are available to them.”

She said local newspapers are more reliable providers of news and information than what people might find elsewhere.

”Print is held accountable for the information to be credible, whereas if you just go to a Google site, it doesn’t mean that the information you’re getting there is absolutely correct,” Paul said.

Perez’s bill is still being drafted, so only its title is available on the N.H. Legislature’s website. Actual wording will be released later this fall or early next year.

Brendan McQuaid, publisher of the N.H. Union Leader and president of the N.H. Press Association, had a positive comment:

“While we haven’t yet had the opportunity to review that particular bill, any effort to help local news is welcomed by the New Hampshire Press Association, and we thank Rep. Perez for her efforts.” 

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.