editorial 
 Another yoke on our neck 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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 BRONX TIMES R 12     EPORTER, APR. 9-15, 2021 BTR 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 BY BRONX TIMES 
 For all the talk about “supporting  
 local journalism,” it appears New York  
 state government isn’t all that interested  
 in doing so. 
 It’s  no  secret  that  the  journalism  
 business — the only industry protected  
 by the Constitution, as John F. Kennedy  
 once said — is under siege by a barrage  
 of fi nancial complications that predate  
 the pandemic itself. At this point, no  
 company can afford additional burdens  
 that stand in the way of producing quality, 
   essential  journalism  to  keep  the  
 public informed. 
 Yet the state legislature seems hellbent  
 on  throwing  another  yoke  onto  
 the neck of our oxen with the Extended  
 Producer Liability Act. 
 The legislation has an aim that  
 doesn’t sound so bad on paper: making  
 product producers responsible for recycling  
 their products after use. But if  
 passed, it will have the unintended consequence  
 of driving another nail into  
 the local journalism coffi n. 
 The bill mandates that any company  
 that  produces  “product  packaging, 
  plastic wrappers and bottles and  
 paper products” — such as brochures,  
 fl yers, catalogs, booklets, telephone directories  
 and, you guessed it, newspapers  
 and magazines — bears the fi nancial  
 burden of paying to have unused or  
 undistributed materials to be recycled. 
 For full disclosure: Our company,  
 Schneps Media, has more than 70 different  
 newspapers and magazines circulated  
 across  New  York  City  daily,  
 such as The Bronx Times, weekly and  
 monthly. You can imagine the kind  
 of devastating impact this act would  
 have should the legislature pass it, and  
 should Governor Andrew Cuomo  sign  
 it into law. 
 It is utterly ridiculous that newspaper  
 companies are not exempt from this  
 law. To say nothing about the vital services  
 we provide, the journalism industry  
 already takes great pains to be ecofriendly. 
 As Michelle Rea, New York Press  
 Association president, recently pointed  
 out, newsprint accounts for less than  
 7% of all solid waste in a community.  
 The  printing  industry  has  committed  
 to using more recycled newsprint in its  
 products, and the materials themselves  
 — including non-toxic ink — are biodegradable. 
 Newspapers should be exempt from  
 the Extended Producer Liability Act.  
 The legislation further endangers an  
 already stressed industry that needs  
 more  relief,  not  more  restrictions,  to  
 deliver the news and essential information  
 you need every day. 
 Long Island state Senator Todd  
 Kaminsky is the main sponsor of the  
 bill. Reach out to his offi ce  by  calling  
 518-455-3401 and let him know that this  
 bill is bad for New York journalism. 
 And please call your local state Assembly  
 member or state Senator and  
 tell them to give your local newspaper  
 a break! 
   Photo by Getty Images 
 
				
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