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Broadcasting in Illinois falls under a wide range of commercial and non-profit models, creating a
disparate landscape of revenue streams, staffing, compensation, and financial stability among
newsrooms and broadcast license holders in the state. Local TV revenue follows a cyclical
pattern in which advertising revenue rises in election years and falls in non-election years. Local
stations also benefit from retransmission fees paid for by pay television services, but as
consumer viewing habits shift, the future of such fees is murky. Some industry observers
believe local television stations will eventually face the severe financial distress that local
newspapers are facing now. In Illinois commercial broadcasting, there are fewer reporters,
camera personnel, producers, directors, and writers employed than there were just 10 or 15
years ago.
Among Illinois Public Broadcasting outlets, local underwriting revenue for public media
decreased during the pandemic and has not returned to pre-pandemic numbers. Listener
donations are traditionally the largest single source of revenue for public broadcasting. But, as
is the case for many other nonprofits, donations to public radio are declining as donors wrestle
with rising costs elsewhere in their lives.
This revenue volatility affects the overall ability for broadcasters to sufficiently staff a
newsroom. This is especially true in already-underserved areas of Illinois. Additionally, state
funding for public media over the past 15 years has decreased from $4,011,976 in fiscal year
2009 to $1,657,800 in fiscal year 2024. These funds are administered through a grant from the
Illinois Area Arts Council. Illinois’ funding for public broadcasting is 12 cents per resident per
year, less than the investment in any neighboring state.
While rural areas downstate are clearly being underserved, so are some communities of color in
urban areas. Chicago was once home of a great Black newspaper, the Chicago Defender, which
has survived as an online-only publication but with much less reach than it once had.
Amid the unmet needs, there are signs of hope. The TRiiBE website in Chicago has attracted
attention for its vibrance in appealing to a young Black audience. The Harvey World Herald
offers another example of the new generation of media serving readers of color. Its 26-year-old
founder, Amethyst Davis, spoke to the task force about the challenges of starting her news
outlet and the importance of serving her audience.
Harvey is a south suburb of Chicago with a population of about 20,000 that Davis described as a
food desert “reckoning with generations of racially segregated, concentrated poverty.”
The World Herald, which publishes its news on a website and email newsletter, is “a Black-
owned, queer youth-led and -driven newsroom. We’re actually the only newsroom in town,”
Davis said.
Davis launched in 2022, and her operation survives primarily on grants and reader donations. It
has received various types of support from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism