quote:

U.S. senators consider options for ailing newspapers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government could provide tax breaks for newspapers or allow them to operate as nonprofits to help the struggling business survive, Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday.

Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Congress can help the industry hit by a collapse in advertising revenue, debt that is getting harder to repay and the drift of print subscribers to free online news websites.

Without newspapers, Kerry and other lawmakers said at a Senate subcommittee hearing Wednesday, there will be too few journalists investigating governments, companies and individuals.

"I think there are definitely some things we can do to encourage, to help the situation without stepping over any line," Kerry told Reuters after holding a hearing on the future of journalism.

Kerry, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, was referring to the idea that federal, state and local governments should not offer subsidies or other financial help to newspapers because it would make them beholden to politicians. This, in turn, could discourage critical stories or investigations. Kerry's interest in newspapers sharpened in the past several weeks. The Massachusetts Democrat counts The Boston Globe as his hometown paper, and was dismayed to see that parent company New York Times Co was ready to shut it down because it is losing money.

(Full article here).

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ORIGINAL: Owner59

Liberal?

Says who?

Since more that half of the paper is sports and financial news (and a ton of ads),the charge of a bias falls kinda flat.

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ORIGINAL: Sanity


I have a problem with this. At a time when many left-of-center types are screaming that churches should lose their tax exemptions if they dare to endorse political causes (read Conservative causes), John Kerry is proposing a new tax exemption for (primarily) Liberal newspapers.

Anybody else have a problem with this development? Am I wrong in seeing this as a huge double standard? Or, should churches and newspapers be tax exempt, regardless of what is preached from the news room or from the pulpit...

quote:

U.S. senators consider options for ailing newspapers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government could provide tax breaks for newspapers or allow them to operate as nonprofits to help the struggling business survive, Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday.

Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said Congress can help the industry hit by a collapse in advertising revenue, debt that is getting harder to repay and the drift of print subscribers to free online news websites.

Without newspapers, Kerry and other lawmakers said at a Senate subcommittee hearing Wednesday, there will be too few journalists investigating governments, companies and individuals.

"I think there are definitely some things we can do to encourage, to help the situation without stepping over any line," Kerry told Reuters after holding a hearing on the future of journalism.

Kerry, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, was referring to the idea that federal, state and local governments should not offer subsidies or other financial help to newspapers because it would make them beholden to politicians. This, in turn, could discourage critical stories or investigations. Kerry's interest in newspapers sharpened in the past several weeks. The Massachusetts Democrat counts The Boston Globe as his hometown paper, and was dismayed to see that parent company New York Times Co was ready to shut it down because it is losing money.

(Full article here).

I have seen proposals in Michigan to exempt newspapers from taxation, whether liberal or conservative.  A question I have is that a lot of newspapers seem to own radio and tv stations.  Would everything become tax exempt?  I am not in favor of the movement in any case.

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ORIGINAL: DanaYielding

Since more that half of the paper is sports and financial news (and a ton of ads),the charge of a bias falls kinda flat.

Really? My local paper is roughly 40% local news, 30% national/international news, 10% sports, 10% financial and 10% classifieds

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ORIGINAL: Owner59

sure......studies.....numerous ones even.....does that include Fox,the media arm of the RNC?

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ORIGINAL: Sanity
I have a problem with this. At a time when many left-of-center types are screaming that churches should lose their tax exemptions if they dare to endorse political causes (read Conservative causes)

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ORIGINAL: CruelNUnsual

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ORIGINAL: Owner59

sure......studies.....numerous ones even.....does that include Fox,the media arm of the RNC?

I guess you dont know what "university" means.

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ORIGINAL: Owner59

quote:

ORIGINAL: CruelNUnsual

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ORIGINAL: Owner59

sure......studies.....numerous ones even.....does that include Fox,the media arm of the RNC?

I guess you dont know what "university" means.

university studies,even.....


impressive.......                                                                                             not..

quote:

ORIGINAL: DomKen
I note that you were silent when the previous administration went after liberal churches for accusations of endorsing political candidates (which is actually what is disallowed BTW).

I also note that when I showed that this had been going on in the previous thread you simply abandoned the thread.

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ORIGINAL: DanaYielding

This is not a matter of liberal vs conservatism in newpapers, it is market influence. The newspapers are quickly becoming obsolete in today's instant news i.e. blogosphere, the web et al. They are not adapting quickly enough to market conditions and many are competing against themselves by having their own daily editions on the net free of charge.