Senator Benjamin Cardin, Democrat from Maryland, has proposed a newspaper industry rescue. Having destroyed their own credibility and sustainability by flacking for the Democrats, financially troubled newspapers, under this bill, will become wards of the party, dependent on party goodwill for their government subsidies tax exempt status.
'By Thomas Ferraro
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.
"This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.
A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.
Cardin's 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.'
Yippee... NPR in print.
Do they STILL get to play "Guess That Party"?
Do they STILL get to play "THESE are the facts"?
Are the "new" school history books included in this "benefactors bailout" of "publishers" shunned due to the adulteration of their own product?
They get paid for putting other peoples purse strings in the hands of
their bedfellows, right?
Posted by: CaptDMO | March 25, 2009 at 11:57 AM
I don't think there's much question about who would dictate what, exactly, is news.
Posted by: Tom Bowler | March 25, 2009 at 01:51 PM