Jim Schachter

Ladies and Gentlemen: On behalf of New Hampshire Public Radio, which I serve as president and chief executive officer, I write to offer qualified support for HB1420. Providing a tax credit to small businesses that advertise in local media is a creative mechanism for supporting New Hampshire journalism, which is in critical decline. The number of professional journalists in the state has fallen by 70 percent since the year 2000, leaving many communities without local watchdog journalism, let alone the basic, verified news and information about daily life that knits communities together. Too often in New Hampshire, we don't know what we don't know. In the current fiscal environment, it seems unlikely that the Legislature will open a new tax credit for this bill's purpose. I urge the sponsors and the Ways and Means Committee to work to find a funding mechanism that can win broad support in the House and Senate.