FREE SPEECH
The fallout of the global pandemic is still unfolding, but the damage to the news industry is massive. Just how massive begins to come to light in a study released by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, which began collecting data on Covid-era cutbacks to newsrooms in March of 2020. The findings: At least 6,154 staffers in news organizations (including editorial and non-editorial positions) were laid off between March 2020 and August 2021. At least 100 outlets closed, although 14 of those have since resumed publishing in some capacity. Another 42 were absorbed by mergers or acquisitions, bringing the total number of outlets eliminated to 128 – and all of this while media outlets were covering a public health crisis and the 2020 elections. Temporary relief, like the Paycheck Protection Program, helped. Close to $262 million in grants from Google and Facebook went to nearly 7,000 newsrooms. But, as Tow notes, “While these emergency grants were helpful for many of its recipients, it also deepened the news industry’s reliance on platform funding.” Also ironic, given that Google makes billions of dollars off of news content for which it pays zero.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“If you’re smiling, you’re the best surfer in the water.” - Robby Fabry, a physical education teacher who regularly brings students on field trips to the beach to go boogie boarding. As a teen, he was a sponsored, semi-pro boogie boarder (read Face to Face article).
GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK
GOOD:
Good:
Good news for cannabis retailers, cannabis consumers and for the city of Monterey, which is finally going to get in on the legal recreational industry. On Dec. 21, Monterey City Council voted 4-1 to craft regulations that will allow up to three dispensaries, each in a different commercial district: downtown, the Cannery Row area and Lighthouse Avenue. Consulting firm HdL estimates the dispensaries will generate between $500,000 to $1.5 million in tax revenue per year. The business community has long seen cannabis as an opportunity for Monterey, and on Nov. 16, Monterey County Fair and Event Center CEO Kelly Violini wrote to Mayor Clyde Roberson about the possibility of holding cannabis events at the Fairgrounds, citing “financial benefits to the city of Monterey.” City staff will also explore a cannabis retail tax, which will require voter approval, for the ballot in November 2022.GREAT:
Great news for broadband internet access in the city of Salinas, where city council voted 7-0 on Dec. 14 to sign a license agreement with Underline Monterey, LLC to construct and operate an open-access fiber network. “We’ve reached a point in this society where it’s absolutely table stakes that people in American communities have access to the internet that’s fast, affordable and fair,” Underline CEO Bob Thompson told council. Underline hopes to deliver on that promise with plans starting at $49 per month for high-speed service. But first, Underline needs to build the fiber network, and will raise an estimated $85 million for the project. Salinas Senior Economic Development Manager Andy Myrick is excited about the development: “If we don’t have [the infrastructure] there’s no way to provide the service.” He anticipates construction of the network will begin in the next six months.
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