Lawmakers consider creating committee to examine journalism in Massachusetts

The future of journalism in Massachusetts was the topic of a legislative committee hearing on Beacon Hill Wednesday.

This is at least the second attempt to create a state commission on journalism, tasked with examining ways to strengthen the industry in the state.

While there were discussions about what the commission should look like, ideas were also floated, mainly regarding news sources and independent newspapers.

Fred Rutberg, the publisher of the Berkshire Eagle, testified before the Community Development and Small Business Committee. A retired judge, he was part of a group that bought the newspaper in 2016 from a hedge fund. He said paper tax credits, recently passed in Illinois and New York, would help. He added that the state can also intervene elsewhere.

“Why not ask the Commonwealth, the government itself, to spend more of the advertising dollars that it’s already committed to spending on traditional newspapers or startups,” Rutberg said.

Rutberg gave the example of a television ad from the state treasurer’s office encouraging residents to check a website to see if they have unclaimed property held by the state. He said newspapers should also follow this message.

Rutberg said Eagle is as financially strong as it has been since his group bought the paper, but nonetheless remains “fragile.”

“We can’t weather too many storms and still keep our community informed at an affordable price,” he said.

Others who testified lamented that the public was less informed about local issues, with many small newspapers in the eastern part of the state consolidating and having few or no local reporters on the ground. Some noted that small nonprofits have tried to take over with online platforms, but that they too may need help to survive.

The journalism commission was originally created in 2021 as part of a bill signed by former Gov. Charlie Baker, but it was never fully established or released the report it was supposed to produce that year. Legislative commission co-chair Paul McMurtry said he hopes to revive the panel in the hopes that a report with recommendations can be released before the end of this year.

Documents from the State House News Service were used in this report.