An Exciting Win for Local Journalism in Pennsylvania
And how Free Press Action was at the center of it
Wednesday was a big day for local news in Pennsylvania and Free Press Action played a key role in making it happen. The state’s House of Representatives passed two bills designed to support independent, public-interest news that would meet the information needs of communities across the Commonwealth.
HB 2047 would create a fellowship that places journalists in community newsrooms, inspired by the California Local News Fellowship that Free Press Action helped create with local allies.
HB 2048 would create a Pennsylvania Civic Information Consortium to invest in local reporting. It’s modeled on the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, which Free Press Action helped establish and which has distributed more than $14 million to local newsrooms and organizations since 2021.
Both bills, sponsored by State Rep. Chris Rabb, go to the Pennsylvania Senate, which can take them up in January.
The day after the vote, I spoke with two colleagues who were in Harrisburg as both bills advanced: Eric Thurm, Free Press Action’s civic media campaign manager, and Vanessa Maria Graber, Free Press’ senior director of journalism and media education.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Julio Ricardo Varela: What was it like being in Harrisburg on Wednesday when the bills passed?
Eric Thurm: There are so many people in the room, and there’s so much machinery that has to happen for them to take this kind of vote. It’s sort of both very rewarding and a little anticlimactic to see all of this work that so many people have been doing, and then they all take the vote and move on to the next thing immediately. But that’s why we’re doing it.
Vanessa Maria Graber: I talked to Rep. Rabb about supporting a local-news bill around a year ago at a No Kings protest at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall. I interviewed him about the importance of freedom of the press. I have known him for over 10 years, and I took the time to ask him if he’d be willing to support legislation like they had in New Jersey to support independent media outlets, like the Philadelphia Hall Monitor, the one I was reporting for at the time. And I remember walking with him to the train station and offering reasons as to why this was the moment and the right time to do it. And without hesitation, he said, “Yes, let’s do it.”
Vanessa Maria Graber
So it was really a full-circle moment for me, having done that more than a year ago and being in Harrisburg on Wednesday. He kept his promise to support us and do everything he could to make it a reality. Whenever we have these ideas, dreams and visions for the future — to see them come to life through the legislative and democratic process gives me hope for democracy in the future.
JRV: Why is this such a win?
ET: The law creating New Jersey’s Civic Info Consortium passed in 2018, and this is the first time since then that one of the houses of a state legislature has advanced a civic-info-consortium model. The really remarkable thing is that these bills were introduced less than a year ago. It’s a real indication that this is a priority that people care about, and that we have a lot of momentum moving forward.
VMG: We don’t often see journalists organizing in support of themselves. When we organize, we win. And it’s more than just proof of concept for fellow journalists and newsroom leaders that we have to advocate for ourselves. Nobody is coming to save us.
I believe it’s a critical time, especially in light of all these threats to press freedom and our First Amendment rights, to form mutual aid networks where we can share information, we can support each other and we can keep each other safe. We’ve seen that with our organizing in New Jersey. I want journalists to form lasting relationships and networks that help us do our job better.
JRV: What should people know right now?
ET: This isn’t just for Pennsylvania. Rather than people sort of glazing over a little bit when you talk to them about “supporting local news,” they understand. People across the country are trying to get access to information about events in their community, how their local government works, what’s going on with their air and water. But they face challenges understanding these issues, even in a moment in which they theoretically have access to more information than anyone has ever had in the history of this planet. That contrast has created this deep crisis. And people feel that. I think we have a special opportunity to present people with a solution that tries to rebuild community trust and meets people where they are.
VMG: We have a lot of momentum right now. And so if you’re a journalist or somebody who creates content that informs your community — or you want to do that — now is the time to get involved.
JRV: Does this get national attention? Did Pennsylvania put a mark in the ground?
ET: I hope so. I think this is a huge step forward for this kind of policy. It’s meaningful that this is happening in a state with a variety of different political makeups, and it’s an indication that this is an issue that people increasingly understand is serious and important.
JRV: Tell me about the coalition. What made it so unique, and why did it hit?
VMG: This coalition has existed for years. Free Press began working in Pennsylvania through News Voices in 2019, building a coalition with partners in Philadelphia. From there, we created the J.A.W.N Coalition (the Journalism Accountability Watchdog Network). We organized with the Philadelphia Association of Black Journalists, the Philadelphia chapters of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the Asian American Journalists Association. And we continued organizing with academics — with our friends at the University of Pennsylvania’s Media, Inequality and Change Center and with Temple’s Center for Community-Engaged Media.
So there is already a base of support that has existed for years, and then, when we started this campaign, we grew beyond the Philadelphia area and started working with friends in the areas of Pittsburgh, State College and the Lehigh Valley, and it just grew from there. This is truly a people-powered movement.
JRV: What happens next?
ET: We know the bills are not going to become law this session because they have not gone through the Senate, but we are still very optimistic. State legislative campaigns often take a long time since the gears can move so slowly. But there’s a broad coalition and a lot of energy around these bills, and we’re hoping to make major progress.
VMG: There’s still a lot of work to be done, and we could use everybody’s help. We will be doing a lot of work in December and January to prioritize the bills in the next legislative session and move them forward. We hope to organize some informational hearings in Harrisburg during the winter months, which will be another opportunity for people to participate, tell their stories, share their visions and talk about what they feel is important for legislators to know. People love a winning team, so come on aboard and take this ride with us.
Open tabs
Carr, the “giddy soldier.” In a column published Friday morning, MS NOW’s Anthony L. Fisher writes that Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr’s warning to broadcasters about airing “fake polls” adds a new dimension to President Trump’s censorship campaign, arguing that Carr is helping lay the groundwork for Trump to once again falsely claim fraud if Republicans do poorly in the midterms.
Fisher’s verdict — Carr is “a giddy soldier in Trump’s war on the Constitution.”
Anthony L. Fisher
As Pressing Issues co-editor and Free Press Co-CEO Craig Aaron notes on Bluesky: “This sure looks like the government trying to intimidate broadcasters not to air polls that look bad for Trump. Great opportunity to prove your independence by calling out the censors and reporting the facts. The public is watching and will remember who shrank and who spoke out.”
The kicker
“These bills are a major step forward for an informed Pennsylvania, and support reliable, independent local news that will help people contribute to and participate in our democracy. I look forward to watching them continue to advance and to create an example for other states across the nation.”—Pennsylvania State Rep. Chris Rabb
About the author
Julio Ricardo Varela is the senior producer and strategist at Free Press. He is also a working journalist, columnist and nonprofit-media leader. He is a massive Red Sox, Knicks and Arsenal fan (what a combo). Follow him on Bluesky.
