A bill that would divert some unused film tax credits to public media got a hearing before a Senate panel on Monday, with backers of public television and journalism supporting the plan.
The Senate Economic Growth Committee heard discussion on — but did not vote on — S4323, which would allow the state to auction off unused film tax credits and spend the money on public broadcasting. Much of that funding would go through the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, which provides grants to some 80 journalism organizations across the state in an attempt to address the collapse of local media in the past several decades.
“Public media is going through a transformation of what it looks like in this new media ecosystem, and New Jersey has struggled to have a New Jersey-specific focus, from North to Central to South to the Shore,” said state Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-South Brunswick), one of the bill’s sponsors.
Last week, Montclair State University won a bid to take over New Jersey’s public television franchise. WNET, the franchise’s current operator, had slated it to close by the end of the month.
Read full article here.