New Federal Duties Further Jeopardize Community Newspapers

In an era of misinformation, local newspapers are vital lifelines to our communities. This is particularly true in small towns across the country, where a newspaper is often the only source of local news. Amid rising costs and challenging business conditions, many community newspapers are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Unfortunately, the federal government is currently considering imposing permanent duties on newspapers that will make it even more difficult for our small newspapers to survive.

Despite playing a critical role in our communities, many of us are struggling amid a perfect storm that includes rising costs of raw materials, increased postage rates for periodicals, anticompetitive practices from digital monopolies, and increasing attacks on media, among other challenges. New tariffs or duties on the materials we need to publish newspapers would be the latest bad card in a deck that is already stacked against community news.

Newspapers are printed using lithograph aluminum plates. Although many Americans have never heard of printing plates, they have a significant impact on daily life. These plates are used to print books and magazines, marketing materials, food packaging, and even assembly instructions for furniture or children’s toys. There is no U.S.-based production of the kind of ultraviolet printing plates that we need to print on our equipment, so these plates must be imported from Europe or Asia. In September, the International Trade Commission (ITC) will decide whether to extend new duties on the printing plates we use, which are manufactured in Japan and China. Without reversing their decision, this will add a financial burden to the 21 small community newspapers we print for communities in Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska.

We don’t have to speculate about the devastating impact of tariffs on the news industry.

In 2018, the ITC imposed tariffs on paper used for groundwood products including newsprint, and costs went up across North America. The disruption of international free trade can only lead to increased costs for newspapers who will be forced to pass along costs to subscribers and advertisers—or may be the final blow that closes our doors altogether. We are already fighting to avoid more layoffs of journalists. Closures of newspapers creates news deserts with no reliable sources of information.

Although all news outlets may be impacted by tariffs and duties, small community newspapers—which are locally owned and operated, and are sometimes staffed by just one or two individuals—will feel it most. Over 1,500 counties have seen news options dwindle to a single outlet. Journalists in rural communities have been hard hit. For example, in South Dakota and Alaska, the number of journalists decreased by more than 66% from 2005 to 2022.

It is difficult to see who wins from additional tariffs or duties imposed on newspapers. When the government interferes in the printing plate market and picks winners through the imposition of new tariffs and duties, community newspapers, small businesses that advertise in community newspapers, and consumers all lose.

It is no mistake that the press is the only profession mentioned in the United States Constitution. In small towns and across the country, our newspapers continue to hold the government accountable on behalf of citizens. If the government chooses to permanently impose these new duties on newspapers, it will land as yet another attack on the news industry.

We urge the ITC to reject these additional and unfounded costs on newspapers that could leave small towns without a trusted local news source at a critical moment for our democracy.

Adam Meyer is Publisher of the Jackson Hole News&Guide, Jackson Hole Daily, and is Chief Operating Officer of Teton Media Works in Jackson, Wyoming.  Matt Adelman is Publisher of the Douglas Budget and the Glenrock Independent in Douglas, Wyoming.