“We Told You So” Alert – The Fourth Estate Bailout
More than a few people laughed at us a couple of months ago when we speculated that some nut-job in Washington D.C. (where there’s certainly no shortage of nut-jobs) would one day propose a bailout of the mainstream media, and in particular the ailing newspaper industry.
Well, that day arrived yesterday, and the nut-job (this time) was Senator Benjamin Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland.
From Reuters:
“We are losing our newspaper industry,” Cardin 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.”
Well, pudding.
There’s a lot of business models failing lately … why the hell should a bunch of arrogant, left-leaning bureaucrat sycophants in the Fourth Estate get a free ride?
Seriously, what the hell happened to the notion of “creative destruction” in this country? Or adapting your business model to meet evolving consumer demand?
Cardin’s bill – which thankfully has attracted ZERO co-sponsors – would permit newspapers to operate as educational non-profits (like NPR), but would prohibit their editorial pages from making endorsements.
The proposal would also make advertising and subscription revenue tax exempt, and (this is even scarier) would make contributions to support newspapers tax-deductible.
Comments
By DJ on March 27th, 2009 at 7:52 am
yeah….government controlled banks….government controlled healthcare…and now government controlled media, this way newspapers cant be the dissenters and watchdogs of politics that it used to be. way to go America.
By Palmetto_Native on March 27th, 2009 at 9:11 am
They already leach off the public dollar because government is forced to publish an inordinant amount of advertising for public notices, etc. They then turn around and charge rates that are many times higher than they charge anyone else for the same amount of space.
Then they dont have to pay sales taxes thanks to a tax exemption they receive that forbids the charging of a sales tax on newspapers…
I think they are already on the dole….
By Jack on March 27th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Tax exempt status for front page newsitorials worshiping the latest leftist drivel?
Did anyone ever mention the FairTax around here?
By roofus on March 27th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Whatever happened to the “free press?”
By jed on March 27th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Yeah, who needs investigative journalism when we have blogs with all the latest on Lindsey, et al. We would have been better off if we’d never had newspapers to expose the dysfunction at DHEC or the Mercury in our rivers or any of the dozens of other stories that can’t be fully covered in less than 30 seconds by a TV reporter or haven’t been leaked to a blogger. If I can’t get my news in sound bytes or innuendo, then I don’t want it. And I’m pretty sure the newspapers just made up the whole Watergate thing. Pinko fags.
By souiche on March 27th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Watergate? pleeaase… ha!Talk about a ghost of the past! weooooooh!
Jed, go ask Joe the Plumber what he thinks of Watergate.
By roofus on March 27th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Jed, you forgot the “Rathergate” and the Duke Lacross Scandal.
Yes, but I do see your point, take away incentives to donate to the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other such charities, and instead “invest” federal monies to float liberal-leaning newspapers.
By jed on March 27th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
I’m sure the Washington Times and the Wall Street Journal and the Post & Courier would benefit as well as the lefty rags. And for the record, I think it’s ludicrous to think anyone would/should “donate” to a newspaper. If you want to support them, subscribe or buy an ad. This donation thing would open the door for massive contributions from special interests (from all sides) and would more than undo any impression of neutrality that taking endorsements away from them would impart.