Why Are Local News Companies Accepting Government Funding?
Recently, a contributor to The Union observed that Sierra Thread states on our site, “Unlike other regional purveyors of information and opinion, Sierra Thread will not accept government money to promote any news item or public opinion.” Without offering any evidence that would be readily available to him as an employee of The Union, the contributor asserts that Sierra Thread “is suggesting The Union is paid by the government to promote [the County government’s] views.” That is exactly what we are suggesting. There is an unhealthy local partnership between local media outlets and the Nevada County government to promote local government policies which appear to be organic but are, in actuality, propaganda from Nevada County’s government.
How Much Does Nevada County Pay Local News Companies?
According to public records received from the Nevada County Auditor's office, five local media outlets received, at a minimum, $150,000 in 2022 from the County of Nevada for advertising and other purposes. There are other local media companies that likely received funding from the County but were not included in this public records request. Because Sierra Thread does not have access to The Union’s financial records or those of other local media outlets and, oftentimes, it is difficult to get the entirety of these records from the County, all figures listed herein are minimums. There could be more money from the County going to local media, but only the local media outlets could disclose such information to the public in its entirety. They have not.
Excerpt from PRA. See the full documentation provided by the county.
In 2022, the Nevada County government paid The Union at least $57,000. This amount includes payments to The Union through its previous owner, Nevada County Publishing, and Gold Hill California Media Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal offices in Marion, Illinois, which acquired The Union in June of 2022. This same information is readily available to The Union commentator, but as is often the case, his articles are suspect and lack any supporting evidence.
Sierra Sun, which is owned by Swift Communications of California, a California corporation based in Wheeling, West Virginia, received over $52,000 in 2022. Up until a few years ago, Swift Communications owned The Union.
Yubanet, which is locally owned, received $17,140 in 2022.
KNCO Radio, also known as Nevada County Broadcasting, was paid at a minimum $15,036 in 2022. Sierra Thread is told that such an amount to KNCO may be four times higher; however, at this time, we cannot corroborate the alleged $60,000 amount. Only KNCO is in a position to provide such information to the public.
Moonshine Ink LLC, a California limited liability company, received at least $2,651 in 2022.
Additional Money to Freelance Writers to Produce the Content
The vast majority of these County funds going towards advertising in the local media were expended in the government’s support of its failed Measure V. Not only did the County government pay these local media outlets for all of these County advertisements, the County also paid a freelance writer nearly $7,000 between 2022 and 2023 to publish articles on the County's behalf which appear to be “organic” articles but are, in actuality, paid for propaganda by the County and published, wittingly or unwittingly, by The Union and other local media outlets. Examples are Be Ready for the Day, published in The Union on July 8, 2022, Deer Creek “Fire Flume” Threatens Thousands of Nevada County Residents, published in The Union on November 7, 2022, Community Eyes Measure V to Keep Truckee Safe from Fire published in the Sierra Sun on September 27, 2022, and Eyes on the Horizon: Deer Creek “Fire Flume” has Potential to Threaten Nevada City, Lake Wildwood and Cascade Shores – more than 7,400 residents published on Yubanet on November 5, 2022. Clearly and based on the timing of these government-paid-for-articles, the local government was attempting to scare people into voting for Measure V by paying a freelance writer to publish “organic” articles in local media outlets which, in fact, were paid for by the County CEO’s office.
Excerpt of an invoice (one of several examples) that shows Nevada County approving and paying a freelance writer, who in turn submitted the article to The Union. View a file of similar invoices.
Sierra Thread Will Not Accept Government Funding
To be sure, Sierra Thread does not accept government funding and will not publish paid advertising for government agencies. We are of the firm opinion that local media cannot be unbiased if they accept funds which promote a government position. The County has its own website to promote its policies if it so chooses. Unlike the local media behavior during the County government’s campaign for its failed Measure V, local media should pledge to report only real news and not messages paid for by our local government, as it negatively impacts their independence.
To be sure, some payments from Nevada County to The Union are required by law, such as publication of notices in the local newspaper for elections and for tax sales as a result of unpaid property taxes. As is evident in the disclosures from the Auditor’s office, the majority of the payments to The Union did not derive from publication of legally required notices but from miscellaneous categories unrelated to required notices. As seen in the Auditor’s records, a substantial portion of The Union’s income from the County was for advertising in favor of Measure V. In short, the Nevada County government is a significant advertiser in The Union, as well as other local media outlets, and such fact be considered when forming an opinion about local media reports related to the County.
Why are these media companies accepting government money? Perhaps it could be well-intentioned, but however well-intentioned, the media companies need to ask themselves if they can truly be independent if one significant funding source is the government.