Good news for local media as the government reopens

Nov 14, 2025

The National Newspaper Association and its partners were once again happy to see the recognition by Congress of the vital role community newspapers play in sharing information to small and rural markets.

As part of the package of bills approved by the Senate and the House to get the government open after the historic 43-day shutdown, Congress approved NNA language directing advertising to community media in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

“We are so pleased that our work continues to be acknowledged and that the important work of local newspapers in supplying citizens with information will keep going,” NNA Chair Martha Diaz Aszkenazy, publisher of the San Fernando Valley (California) Sun and El Sol Newspapers, said. “We were successful in helping them with messaging from the Health and Human Services Department last year and will be equally as effective in assisting the Department of Agriculture in reaching out to rural communities.”

We will collaborate with our partners on this project to ensure that the department fulfills its responsibilities under this bill, according to NNA Executive Director Lynne Lance.

The grassroots work of our publishers talking to their members of Congress about the value of local media helped make this happen for NNA members. We look forward to continuing and expanding this project.

NNA Public Policy Chair Brett Wesner, president of Wesner Publications, Cordell, Oklahoma, expressed gratitude for Sen. Merkley (D- Oregon) and Sen. Hyde Smith (R-Mississippi) as they continued to support and magnify the importance of our work to the communities we serve through this long process.

The report language reads as follows:

FY 26 Senate Agriculture Appropriations Report Language:

Rural News Media and Advertising Campaigns — The Committee recognizes the critical role local media plays in delivering messages to small or rural communities. The Committee directs the Secretary to utilize local news media in rural areas for USDA advertising campaigns to reach citizens in these communities with key messages. Local media should include newspapers, including non-daily newspapers, television, and radio. The Committee directs the Office of the Secretary to update the Committee within 120 days of enactment of this act on the efforts of the Department, including the Agricultural Marketing Service, Rural Development, the Farm Service Agency, and the Food and Nutrition Service, in utilization of local media in rural areas as part of the Department’s advertising campaigns for fiscal year 2026.