Los Angeles County Approves Motion to Strengthen Local, Ethnic and Community Media
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in California approved a motion on November 10 directing the County to develop a coordinated strategy for working with local, ethnic, community and hyperlocal media, to improve transparency in advertising expenditures and expand those outlets' access to County contracts. The motion was authored by Board Chair and First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn.
The motion notes that California has lost more than 12,000 local journalists since 2002, and that many communities rely on local and ethnic media reporting in residents' own languages as their primary source of public information. It cites New York City's approach as a reference, where a goal of directing at least 50 percent of advertising spending to ethnic and community outlets ultimately steered about $72 million into the local media ecosystem over five years.
Under the motion, the County's Chief Executive Officer, working with the Internal Services Department, the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, the Office of Immigrant Affairs and other departments, will report back within 120 days on four areas: the feasibility of a countywide framework, philanthropic and academic partners for an independent assessment of County advertising spending, incorporating assessment tools into procurement practices, and engaging local and ethnic media organizations. Hahn said advertising with the local outlets residents already trust is a win for local journalism, for communities and for the County.
(Source: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors)
Source: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 洛杉矶 Kenneth Hahn 行政大楼，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0 / Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Los Angeles, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
