Tuesday’s monster $3 trillion COVID-19 wish list, which included financial relief for struggling local media outlets, was quickly stamped D.O.A. by Senate Republicans. On Wednesday something happened that has a much better chance of leading to you getting money faster. Here’s what you can do to push that along.
Bi-partisan legislation was introduced in the Senate that expands eligibility for SBA loan access for local radio and TV stations and newspapers.
The expansion of PPP for local media would treat broadcasters and newspaper owners much like hotels and restaurants were treated under the original CARES Act PPP. It would require stations to fit within the SBA size standard for the broadcasting industry, or under $41.5 million in annual revenue.
Remember, Tuesday’s D.O.A. $3 trillion proposal that will most likely go nowhere fast included the PPP expansion for local media. Add this new proposed legislation to the mix and that puts a lot of people on record in support of giving you the financial help you may need to survive. However, just like we wrote yesterday, it’s important to keep the phones ringing and the e-mail flying, to your elected officials in Washington to make sure they remember how vital you’ve been to the community since this crisis began.
You can read the proposed legislation HERE.
Dinosaur=Radio
Already been asked–would appear that if the company qualified for a PPP loan in the first or second round, they would not be eligible for a second loan in this round.
This new round of PPP loans would be for those larger companies where the total employee count was too high, but would come in under the limits if each separate location (e.g.–local radio station clusters or separate TV markets) would qualify.