Thursday, December 10, 2009
First came the U.S. financial institutions bailout. Then the government decided the automotive industry needed an influx of cash. Critics asked “what’s next” and wondered when the handouts would end.
Despite the talk of a rebounding economy and improved financial prospects on the horizon, the taxpayer funded bailouts may not be over yet. Earlier this year, Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) introduced S. 673, the so-called “Newspaper Revitalization Act,” that would allow community and metropolitan newspapers to become nonprofit organizations, similar to public broadcasting networks. Essentially, the newspapers would be tax exempt.
The bill sat mostly unnoticed until late September, when the U.S. Senate and House Joint Economic Committee convened for a hearing titled "The Future of Newspapers: The Impact on the Economy and Democracy.” The hearing was promoted as a discussion examining “contraction in the newspaper industry, the economic impact of the changing media landscape, as well as the future of the industry at large.” But when a wave of negative backlash ensued, Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) insisted the hearing was “not about bailouts. No one's talking about bailouts. We're through with bailouts."
Really?
This statement came from the loan cosponsor of S. 673 who earlier this year warned that “unless something is done, and done fast, it's likely that many metropolitan areas may soon have no local daily newspapers, and that would damage our democracy.”
Yes, newspapers are facing steep drops in advertising and subscription revenue due to the economic recession and competition from new media technologies. Who would have thought five years ago that the Chicago Sun-Times and its 58 suburban newspapers could be purchased for just $5 million in cash, plus $22 million in assumed liabilities? Or that the Tribune Company could go bankrupt? Or that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer could go out of business? Yes, an independent and diverse press is essential to a democratic political system. But is the media still free when it’s indebted to the government it is charged with chronicling?
At the Economic Committee hearing, Newspaper Association of America President John Sturm said: "We don't believe direct governmental financing is appropriate for an industry whose core mission is news-gathering, analysis and dissemination, often involving that very same government.” How true.
Newspapers have long been a part of our American tradition. But perhaps that tradition, like so many others, is evolving. Like corporate America, traditional media needs to embrace new media forums and also look for creative new ways to advance the industry.
Perhaps they could introduce a “cash for media clunkers” program in schools, providing discount subscriptions to future subscribers, teaching them to enjoy the newsprint on their fingers and appreciate the value of in-depth investigative reporting in a stream-of-consciousness, 140-character world. Or as Stanford University Professor Joel Brinkley suggested, collaborate on a decision to begin charging for their Web sites. Or look into some of the strategies to reinvent the media suggested by Strategy + Business reporters Matthew Egol, Harry Hawkes, and Greg Springs. Or maybe just take a closer look at restructuring the news they tell based on what their readers want. The industry is filled with creative minds who need to think further outside the box to make a fiscally viable place for their reporting in today’s market.
You are correct President Obama, good journalism is "critical to the health of our democracy," and we do need to recognize that “if the direction of the news is all blogosphere, all opinions, with no serious fact-checking, no serious attempts to put stories in context, that what you will end up getting is people shouting at each other across the void but not a lot of mutual understanding.” But government funded media is not the answer. It is one column inch away from government-run media, which isn’t even close to saving the newsman.
Laura Miller
lmiller@greentarget.net