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‘Time is running out for the community’s voice to be heard’ was the takeaway from Saturday morning’s Charting a New Path Forward: What Residents and Civic Leaders Want in Local Media forum, held at Cowerks in the Lakehouse building on Lake Avenue in Asbury Park.

Members of the local media, including Jersey Shore Hurricane News, the Asbury Park Press and Coast Star, as well as residents from Bradley Beach to Hazlet came together to brainstorm how proceeds from the $332 million sale of old media licenses should be used to better inform communities.

“We want to take some of that money from the sale to inform the public, which is what it was originally meant to do,” said Mike Rispoli, the Free Press New Voices: New Jersey director.

Led by the Free Press Action Fund, similar forums have been held across the state from Tuckerton to Montclair. With over 1,000 signatures, the event organizers are rallying residents to call, email and write letters to lawmakers in support of the Civic Information Bill known as A4993 / S3303.

The bill allows for the allocation of $100 million in proceeds from the federal broadcast-incentive auction, in which the sale of the licenses of New Jersey public-television stations WNJN and WNJT brought in more than $330 million in revenues to the state, officials said.

“Imagine if your public park or public library was sold off and lawmakers were not talking about it,” Rispoli said. “If we don’t take action the money will disappear into the general budget instead of being used to rebuild local media.”

For their part, meeting participants used words like shrinking and challenged to describe local media coverage. Ideas for rebuild community news coverage included forums that introduced the media members of the community to creating a reporting team and app that would determine a law’s impact.

“This is a once in a lifetime only chance to move New Jersey from the stepchild of news coverage to a national showcase,” said Chris Satullo, Free Press engagement consultant. “Nothing like this has ever been done before.”

If passed, the bill would create the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, which would unite the state’s universities with digital innovators, community organizations and dedicated local journalists to provide communities with impactful reporting. Funding for a Civic Information Consortium would be allocated in $20-million annual disbursements over a five-year period, Rispoli said.

The bill expected to come before the legislature on June 19. To add your signature to the Civic Information Bill, click here. For more about the Free Press News Voices, click here. 

Lawmakers via telephone include:

Senate President Stephen Sweeney 856-251-9801

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto 201-770-1303

Senator Jennifer Beck 732-933-1591

Assemblywoman Joann Downey 732-695-3371

Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling 732-695-3371

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The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

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