State to Reconvene Journalism Panel

Lawmakers signaled openness Wednesday to a range of state action that could support the ailing journalism industry, especially to boost local outlets covering underserved communities.

The Legislature is eyeing the revival of a state commission that never completed its original assignment to review years of upheaval in journalism across Massachusetts, and top Democrats are thinking about a new approach for the panel that will pick up that charge.

Rep. Paul McMurtry and Sen. Pavel Payano, who chair the Community Development and Small Businesses Committee, hosted a hearing Wednesday to solicit feedback from reporters, editors, publishers and other industry representatives. The chairmen signaled plans to convene a reshaped journalism commission this fall that would produce a suite of recommendations by the end of the year.

"There are other states that have come up with solutions that we might want to explore," Payano, a Lawrence Democrat, said after the hearing. "I'm coming out of this extremely hopeful because there are already ideas out there. I can't wait until we gather these individuals together and see what they come up with."

A 2021 economic development law signed by former Gov. Charlie Baker created a 23-member legislative commission to "study journalism in underserved communities in the commonwealth."

McMurtry said lawmakers held conversations about the topic after that law was signed, but the commission never fully came together or completed its report that was due Aug. 1, 2021.

Now, McMurtry said, Beacon Hill wants to take another stab.

"We anticipate perhaps getting [a commission] together in the fall so that we could deliver something before the end of the calendar year," he said.