Newspaper Bailouts?

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25 March 2009 5 Comments

news-man BY: NCViking

Readership of newspapers is down, some are folding, others going bankrupt. Are we seeing the end of the traditional newspaper as we know it?

I do love to read the newspaper, but admittedly I no longer get a morning subscription. Something about walking to the end of the driveway in 40 degree drizzle just doesn’t appeal to me anymore. I also get most of my news/opinions from reading the media outlets and blogs online. The newspaper industry is dying at the hands of new media, where people can get all of the news and opinion in real time costing just a portion of their internet access or in some cases, a fraction of a phone bill. I know, phones and laptops are not good reads on a plane, or the john. There will always be a need for people who dig the format, but it may not be enough to sustain the industry indefinitely. So what’s going to happen? Evolution? Nope, Govelution.

Some in our illustrious Senate want to prop up the failing newspaper industry (mostly for sentimental and political reasons) by introducing a bill that provides tax incentives, and allows papers to operate under a non-profit tax model. What?

From Reuters:

Senator Benjamin Cardin’s (D-MD) Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.

Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.

Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible.

“We are losing our newspaper industry,” Senator Benjamin Cardin (D – Maryland) said. “The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy.

Turning our newspaper industry into one big, printed NPR? BOR-ING! (admittedly, I listen)

Here is an interesting take on this from HotAir.com:

It didn’t take long for Democrats to try bailing out and co-opting an industry that they see as vital to their cause. Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) wants to have the federal government fund newspapers, providing the faltering industry with subsidies in exchange for control over their editorial decisions.

And Michelle called this for some time calling it the ‘The Fishwrap Rescue and Recovery Act of 2009′.

What about bloggers? If I ever make any money from advertising (LOL) on this blog, will I get a tax exemption? Fat chance.

Great pic, aye?
paper

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5 Comments »

The Windy City Windbag said:

Reporters and news aren’t going out of style… it is timing and delivery of the paper. It is like saying, hey we need to prop up the black and white TV industry, or where is the bail out bill for phone books.

Reporters are just going to have to go to a different model. Gone: Flimsy rolled paper thrown on someone’s driveway once a day. In: News delivered quickly with reference links. Papers are the steam locomotive: quaint.

# 25 March 2009 at 5:51 pm

Still Proud said:

My construction/maintenance/repair company died as a result of the current trends (no one is spending a dime they don’t HAVE to). I am still here to answer the phone, yet business has dwindled to the point I have 0 resources left. Is the community better served without my service? Of course not. At the minimum, I need to be there for competitive bids. Lets not end up with only one huge (Wal-Mart sized) controlling the costs associated with the industry.The real question is, where do I apply for a government prop up? Can I start over as a non-profit company and still receive a meager allowance( under 250,000)? And will the government pay this company to make repairs for people who cannot afford it? I do solemnly swear to give back any money “I” would receive over 249.999. I have met a need ( community service to lower paid individuals). Back to the original post,I will assume that the newspapers have owners, and shareholders. For the non-profit exemption will they be able to get paid and get “bonuses”? I believe “we the people” deserve an answer BEFORE any money is handed to them.

# 26 March 2009 at 6:00 am

J3 said:

I don’t think the newspaper is viable much longer. In the past, it worked because there was no real way to deliver news except in bulk. People who wanted national news, international news, business news, sports, weather, comics, etc., bought the paper and got a lot of what they didn’t want in order to get what they really did want. No one ever read every bit of the paper cover to cover. Now, there are many ways to get only what you really want, and with greater breadth and depth than the paper was capable of providing. Even if most newspapers as we have known them go out of business, there will be still plenty of ways to get information, some of which we haven’t even seen yet. The old model is dying, but the new model is in the process of being born.

# 28 March 2009 at 6:12 am

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