Updates

The state legislature is expected this week to pass a landmark bill that would create a new fund to bolster local news coverage.

New and replicable civic-media initiatives, like Free Press’ News Voices project in New Jersey, are bridging gaps between journalism and civic life.

On Monday, the New Jersey Senate passed the Civic Info Bill, legislation Free Press Action Fund spearheaded that would fund projects designed to strengthen local news coverage.

The New Jersey Legislature approved $5 million for the Civic Information Consortium, an innovative public fund that would invest revive local journalism around New Jersey.

The legislation, which would revive local journalism, will now move to the floors of both chambers for a full vote.

On Monday, Free Press Action Fund News Voices Director Mike Rispoli will testify before the Senate Higher Education Committee on behalf of the Civic Info Bill (S2317/A3628).

Discussions about the crisis in local news tend to be framed in terms of absence.

New Jerseyans are stranded in a news desert — making the Civic Info Bill a lifeline for communities across the Garden State.

Activists fanned out across New Jersey on May 23 to urge state lawmakers to support legislation that would breathe new life into local news and information.

The Civic Info Bill would set up a nonprofit that would improve the local news and civic information available to Garden State residents.