California will give news outlets a refundable tax credit of $20,000 a year for each of their first five full-time journalists, $15,000 for each one after that and $7,500 for each part-time reporter, under a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Sept. 30.
The credit, created by Assembly Bill 2222, the Community Newsroom Employment and Workforce Sustainability Act, covers journalist employment in tax years 2027 through 2031. An outlet that adds a net new full-time journalist can stack another $15,000 on top. Because the credit is refundable, an outlet that owes less in California tax than the credit is worth is paid the difference in cash.
The money will not arrive soon. A journalist has to be employed for more than half the year and the credit is claimed on a tax return, so Rebuild Local News, the nonprofit that sponsored the bill, says funds are likely to reach outlets in 2028. The group projects more than $200 million for California journalist jobs over the five years.
who qualifies
Print, digital and broadcast outlets can qualify, whether they are for-profit, nonprofit or sole proprietorships. A digital outlet has to publish at least monthly and show that at least 33 percent of its audience is in California. A broadcaster needs an FCC community of license in the state or must be a public broadcaster. A print publication needs a court adjudication as a newspaper of general circulation, a USPS periodicals mailing privilege, or at least 33 percent of its distribution in California.
Every applicant must have been organized or registered to do business in California for at least 12 months before the tax year begins. It must list its beneficial owners, or its board if it is a nonprofit, publish a corrections policy with a way for the public to report errors, carry media-liability insurance all year and not be controlled by a political action committee or a 501(c)(4) organization.
A qualifying full-time journalist is a California resident who works at least 30 hours a week for more than 26 weeks and earns at least $35,000 a year. A part-time journalist works 20 to 30 hours a week and earns at least $25,000. Freelancers do not count. A sole proprietor who is both the outlet and the reporter can. Rebuild Local News says no state official evaluates an applicant’s viewpoint or editorial decisions.
The group’s own example: a nonprofit that launched before 2026 with three full-time staffers in 2027 would be eligible for $60,000, paid in 2028. Hiring a fourth that year would raise it to $95,000.
how it is paid for, and who objects
The credit is funded by ending a state corporate tax deduction for executive pay above $1 million, a change Rebuild Local News says aligns California with federal law. The group cites a Franchise Tax Board estimate that the credit will cost $104 million over three years while the deduction change brings in $152 million.
The California Taxpayers Association opposed the bill. They argued it is unsound to finance a credit for one industry with a tax increase on unrelated taxpayers.
the local count
Riverside County, which includes the Coachella Valley, has 2.3 local journalists per 100,000 residents, the third-lowest rate among U.S. counties with more than 500,000 people, according to the Local Journalist Index as reported by Poynter in July. San Bernardino County is fourth-lowest at 2.4. California as a whole has about six. The national figure in this year’s index is 7.8, down from about 40 in 2002.