; Whereas the number of news employees in the radio broadcasting industry dropped by 26 percent between 2008 and 2020; Whereas more than 21,400 media jobs were lost in 2023, the highest number, excluding 2020, since the height of the Great Recession in 2009; Whereas digital native publications have laid off hundreds of journalists, including over 500 in January 2024 alone, and many of those publications have shuttered during the last year; Whereas beat reporting, meaning the day-to-day coverage of a particular field that allows a journalist to develop expertise and cultivate sources, has ceased to be a viable career for would-be journalists due to the decimation of newsroom budgets; Whereas requests submitted under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as Freedom of Information Act requests ), by local newspapers to local, State, and Federal agencies fell by nearly 50 percent between 2005 and 2010, demonstrating a significant drop in the extent to which local reporters request government records; Whereas newspapers alone lost more than $39,800,000,000 in advertising revenue between 2005 and 2020; Whereas the sponsorship revenue of all-news radio stations dropped by 25 percent between 2019 and 2021; Whereas there remains a significant gender disparity in newsroom employment, with women comprising approximately 1/3 of staff who are 30 years of age or older; Whereas women who are local television news anchors and reporters, especially women of color, are often subject to harassment and stalking; Whereas, across the United States, there are nearly 300 media outlets that primarily serve Black communities, and, in recent years, many of those newspapers have seen— (1) significant losses in advertising revenue as small businesses in their communities were forced to close; and (2) declines in circulation due to the closures of businesses in their communities