Opinion: Olympia’s war on a free press

Nancy Churchill argues that Senate Bill 5400 threatens press freedom by subsidizing select media outlets while excluding independent journalists.

Nancy Churchill believes Washingtonians need diverse, truly independent sources to keep power in check

Nancy Churchill
Dangerous Rhetoric

A proposal slithering through the Washington Legislature pretends to rescue local journalism by slapping a new tax on big tech: social media giants and search engines. Senate Bill 5400, pushed by Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, would impose a 1.22% “local journalism investment surcharge” on the gross income of qualifying tech platforms.

Capped at $6 million per platform per year, the cash funnels to the Department of Commerce to bankroll the Washington Local News Sustainability Program. That program doles out grants to “eligible” media outlets for hiring reporters who “meet specified criteria,” criteria suspiciously controlled by the Democrat-majority Legislature.

The bill drew cozy applause from legacy news outfits at a Feb. 5, 2026, hearing in the Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Support from news organizations

Alan Fisko, president and CEO of the Seattle Times Company, dismissed the surcharge as “a drop in the bucket” next to the billions tech firms supposedly harvest from news content without paying up. He claimed it would safeguard journalism jobs and spark more hiring statewide.

Carrie Radcliff, publisher of the Daily Herald, lamented staff cuts and economic squeezes while touting the bill’s promise to prop up community coverage.

The Washington Newspaper Publishers Association cheered it on, warning of information deserts in towns without local papers to watchdog city councils, school boards, and the rest.

Why reward failure?

Critics, including the Washington Technology Industry Association, call out the bill’s rotten foundation: the notion that tech platforms single-handedly killed local news and must now pay reparations. Government Relations Director Amy Harris warned that targeting select companies won’t fix deeper industry woes and highlighted Maryland’s similar scheme, now tangled in lawsuits that could force refunds.

Worse, legacy outlets like the Seattle Times, Daily Herald, and even The Washington Post bleed readers for one glaring reason: They’re biased and often flat-out untruthful. They’ve abandoned neutral reporting in favor of selective narratives. Readers hungry for honesty and balance have fled to independent journalists, platforms, and podcasters who actually deliver both sides.

Restricted press access in the State House

The irony burns hotter: while Olympia preps to subsidize “approved media,” the Washington House of Representatives has slammed the door on press credentials for three prominent independent journalists: Brandi Kruse, Jonathan Choe, and Ari Hoffman. All three were rejected under rules policed by the Capitol Correspondents Association and House leadership.

Kruse, with 15 years covering the Legislature, got blackballed after publicly defending girls’ sports. Rep. Travis Couture blasted the denials as blatant viewpoint discrimination in a limited public forum, where government can set neutral rules but cannot pick winners based on ideology. Legacy media types spew opinion and advocacy daily yet keep their passes; independents who challenge the status quo get shut out.

A pattern of authoritarianism?

These moves, state cash for compliant media paired with exclusion of critical independents, reek of government meddling in the press. Couture called it a “slow creep of incrementalism” toward soft tyranny: not tanks in the streets, but taxpayer-funded favoritism that quietly strangles dissent. He reminded everyone that the First Amendment guards uncomfortable speech, and viability should come from consumers and advertisers, not bureaucrats deciding who qualifies as “real” journalism.

The reality of the news industry

Washington’s local news scene is grim. A 2025 Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism report tallied just 98 local newspapers, down from 103 the year before, plus scattered digital, ethnic, and public outlets. Many counties limp along with one local news source, or none.

Small-town weeklies and community papers fight dying ad revenue and audience shifts, yet they’re essential for holding local power accountable. But staying afloat in Washington is brutal. Our local papers get crushed under the same suffocating taxes as every other business in this high-tax state.

Free Market Capitalism: A better path forward

Forget government handouts that invite corruption and bias. Real solutions come from the market and communities: reader subscriptions, local ads, private donors. Independent journalists, who are scrappy, resourceful and audience-driven, deserve the same access to legislative halls as the legacy crowd.

If you have a local newspaper, please support it with a subscription. We need local journalism. Struggling small papers should have the direct support from the people they serve, not state funding that could turn them into government mouthpieces. Legacy outlets should adapt to what readers actually want instead of begging for taxpayer bailouts. History shows what happens when government funds media: just look at Voice of America or National Public Radio. Media reporting tilts hard toward whoever holds power. That’s not a free press, that’s communism.

What you can do to protect a free press

The toxic mix of proposed subsidies for handpicked media and outright exclusion of dissenting voices endangers the core of a free press. This isn’t help; it’s authoritarian control of the message.

Lawmakers must kill SB 5400 before it passes. Visit leg.wa.gov, and leave a comment on this bill. Tell your senator and representatives to reject this dangerous tax-and-subsidy scheme.

Regarding equal access for all journalists: Write these Democrat House Leaders: Speaker of the House: Laurie Jenkins (District 27), laurie.jinkins@leg.wa.gov, Majority Leader: Joe Fitzgibbon (District 34), joe.fitzgibbon@leg.wa.gov and Majority Caucus Chair: Lillian Ortiz-Self (District 21), lillian.ortiz-self@leg.wa.gov.

Ask that they support freedom of the press by ending recent credential denials and open the doors to all journalists, no matter their views.

Go further: Support independent journalists directly on your favorite social media platforms. Follow Brandi Kruse, Jonathan Choe, Ari Hoffman, The Center Square, HeyWire and other independent platforms like them. Share their posts widely, engage with their content, subscribe to their newsletters or podcasts, and donate when they ask. Help build their audiences and revenue streams so they can keep holding power accountable without government crutches or gatekeepers.

Washingtonians need diverse, truly independent sources to keep power in check. That diversity dies when government picks favorites. Act to support a free press before it’s too late.

Nancy Churchill is a writer, educator, and conservative activist in rural eastern Washington State. She chairs the Ferry County Republican Party and advocates for effective citizen influence through Influencing Olympia Effectively. She may be reached at DangerousRhetoric@pm.me. The opinions expressed in Dangerous Rhetoric are her own. Dangerous Rhetoric is available on Substack and X.