SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1141        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 80

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Brendan P. Crighton

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act establishing a commission to study journalism in underserved communities.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1141        FILED ON: 1/17/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 80

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act establishing a commission to study journalism in underserved communities.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Resolved, that a special legislative commission, pursuant to section 2A of chapter 4 of the General Laws is hereby established to: (i) conduct a comprehensive, non-binding study relative to communities underserved by local journalism in Massachusetts; (ii) review all aspects of local journalism including, but not limited to, the adequacy of press coverage of cities and towns, ratio of residents to media outlets, the history of local news in Massachusetts, print and digital business models for media outlets, the impact of social media on local news, strategies to improve local news access, public policy solutions to improve the sustainability of local press business models and private and nonprofit solutions, and identifying career pathways and existing or potential professional development opportunities for aspiring journalists in Massachusetts.

SECTION 2. The commission shall consist of the following 17 members: 2 of whom shall be the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on community development and small business; 1 member of the house of representatives, to be appointed by the speaker of the house; 1 member of the senate, to be appointed by the president of the senate; 2 members to be appointed by the governor; 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University; 1 of whom shall be a professor at Northeastern School of Journalism; 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Schuster Institute of Journalism at Brandeis University; 1 of whom shall be a member of the Boston Association of Black Journalists; 1 of whom shall be a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists; 1 of whom shall be a member of the Asian American Journalists Association of New England; 1 of whom shall be an editor at Commonwealth Magazine; 1 of whom shall be a member of the New England Newspaper and Press Association; 1 of whom shall be a member of the Massachusetts Municipal Association; 1 of whom shall be a member of the Ida B. Wells Society and 1 of whom shall be the director of the Journalism Lab at the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. All appointments shall be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this resolve.

SECTION 3. The commission shall meet a minimum of 5 times to review, study and analyze existing literature as well as quantitative and qualitative data on the status of journalism in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

SECTION 4. The commission shall submit its findings, along with recommendations for legislation, to the governor, the speaker of the house, the president of the senate, and the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate no later than 1 year after the effective date of this resolve.

SECTION 5. The special commission may make such interim reports as it considers appropriate.