Newspaper Bailout Hypocrisy

With the proliferation of news on the Internet, Americans aren't supporting their local newspapers. Circulation and ad revenues are way down, while web readership at places like the Huffington Post and my publication, Reason magazine -- where the news is likely to be free and up-to-the-minute -- is way up. Technology has changed the game. But for those who see a connection between American democracy and the demise of the newspaper industry, it's time to get the government involved to save the news business.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) recently introduced the Newspaper Revitalization Act, a bill that would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) warns of the "serious consequences for our democracy" if his hometown paper, The Boston Globe, goes belly up. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has publicly argued for an antitrust exemption to save the San Francisco Chronicle, a paper that has long supported her political career. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) recently argued that "If Congress does not act...a major city in the United States will be without a newspaper in the fairly near future."

Washington can give newspapers tax breaks or generous subsides to keep them afloat; there are many ways of extending the life of a terminally-ill patient by forcing onto life support. But why should the government support an industry that consumers are rejecting?

The more important point, though, is that if failing newspapers are propped up by Washington -- in the name of democracy, of course -- what mechanism would force them to innovate or to address the deep institutional problems of a declining industry? Such interventions could potentially ensure survival, albeit temporary, of failing media outlets, but it is ludicrous to assume that a government bailout would reverse a steep decline in readership. Short of a Nicolas Sarkozy-like plan to force newspaper subscriptions upon those indolent, insolent, and ill-educated youths of Denver, a Washington stake in the Rocky Mountain News would be an investment only Jim Cramer could love.

YouTube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQy6s--ZGbs

Comments

[marbou]

Newspapers should do like GM and Chrysler. Make cuts or go belly up.

[KennethZenger]

The Newspaper Revitilization Act is actually bad for democracy. By making newspapers dependant on government tax breaks and subsidies the watch dog function becomes a joke. With access to some of the most talented writers, photographers and editors in the world if the newspapers can't resonate with consumers they deserve to go out of business. They need to seperate content from the delivery mechanism and give consumers what they want.

Kenneth Zenger
www.chiefmarketist.com

[MosheDayanHero]

The only solution is to switch to free, advertisement supported format Just like their online versions.

[AZBunny]

I WOULD support my local newspaper IF it included SOME/ANY investigative journalism.
Instead it's a "fluff" paper filled with "how I met my husband" kind of articles.
I'm 54 and I'd rather have a paper in my hand to read than read news online, but I can't learn a THING from my local paper. In fact about a year they printed an article about how they didn't need to print anything about the world because "other" papers did that. I live in Tucson which has a million people, but the goal of our newspaper was to act like Tucson is Mayberry.

[Angelus2007]

Where is the line where we stop bailing out businesses that don't keep up with the times? Banks we were told were the backbone of the economy, they fail, there will be no money for loans and it will be bad. We were told that the Auto industry is the backbone of what is left of our manufacturing. What about newspapers, the backbone of our logging industry? CNN, MSNBC, and FoxNews have decent internet sites (whether you agree with the content is not of issue) they have interactive votes, maps, graphs, video ect. Why can't local papers do this? I can understand small town papers, but NYT? Boston Globe? Washington Post? Look at their homepages and then look at CNN or MSNBC and tell me the difference? I can tell you. It is a wall of text on those newspaper pages, it is like it is a newspaper. Create great web design, with video and interactive features, like it to you paper. You can have a great site, with identical content, but enhanced content. They aren't moving with the times, so let them go belly up.

[milo9]

Los Angeles Times over the last decade has become a right wing rag, spinning and propagandizing, to promote the Conservative agenda. A conservative rag in one of the bluest areas in the country, now there's a winning business strategy.

[Steve Murphy]

"With the proliferation of news on the Internet, Americans aren't supporting their local newspapers. "

Yes, and with the proliferation of the electric light, Americans aren't supporting their local candlemakers, either. You can't hold taxpayers responsible for an industry that's been defeated by its own inability to adapt to technology.

[Steve Murphy]

... By which I was agreeing with the author, by the way.

[FastMovingCloud]

Republicans have spent the last 40 years bashing newspapers as "the liberal media" to devastating effect. I suggest you ask the RNC for a bailout.

[gator32301]

nothing like the government jumping in to save a medium that it's constituents are at best indifferent to. i wonder if buggy whip companies received similar benefits while Model T's were being churned out.

also, can someone explain the whole "government watchdog" rationale? so in order to preserve newspapers, who have provided a vital role in defending democracy by turning a microscope on those in government and their actions...­the government will provide them benefits inaccessible to other industries. brilliant.

[peterg76]

The problem that newspapers are facing is not cash flow. It's that they've abandoned journalism. The fact that politicians care more than citizens says a lot about what newspapers are actually doing now.

[Luvial]

Why don't the Democrats and Republicans just publish their own newspapers? How many newspapers do they need for their propaganda anyways? Why should taxpayers pay for political/­government propaganda and lies? Too many journalists and lawyers.

[mountainweb]

Face it nationalizing the newspapers will not save them. LACK of readership and the death of journalism has killed them and NO ONE will start reading government owned newspapers that are even more biased than they are now! Yet another MASSIVE waste of the taxpayers money....

[DelmarkGoldfarb]

When was the last time you tried to call in a news tip expecting to speak with a human?

[Jsens3]

Well, if conservatives own the papers I read, they sure aren't editing them very well.

[Kungfublood]

Save the newspapers, but not one penny for the neo cons and all the other wealthy con's that banded together to snatch up the true and replace it with the false!

[research]

Who do you think owns all the newspapers? The Conservatives.