Bill would bring pension relief to news organizations

A group of local news organizations wants help from Congress on pensions. A bill called the Save Community Newspaper Act of 2018 was put forward in July by U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn.

Seattle Times Publisher Frank Blethen is spearheading the campaign and said the legislation would let newspapers postpone millions of dollars in pension contributions.

“I think this will literally save dozens of family-owned newspapers around the country,” Blethen told the Star Tribune. “It is very serious for us. With this pension relief, we would have a pretty clear runway to long-term survival.”

Employment in the industry dropped from about 400,000 in 2008 to under 175,000 in 2018, according to the News Media Alliance. The drop can make it difficult for some organizations to fulfil pension payments.

The legislation would lower the funds a company would have to come up with if a pension plan failed to meet funding targets. It would lengthen to 30 years the period for covering shortfalls. The current period is seven years.

The bill would change the requirements for private pension plans operated by independent daily newspapers that serve communities with populations topping 100,000, according to a House report on the bill.

The legislation would not help big media companies that have newspapers in numerous states or companies whose stock trades publicly.

Blethen said the bill would likely aid some 30 newspaper companies.

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