Govt help for newspapers?
2009-05-07 12:03
Washington - The US government could
provide tax breaks for newspapers or allow them to operate as
non-profits to help the struggling business survive, Sen. John
Kerry said on 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 on 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, chairperson 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.
The Globe was able to avoid closing after reaching a
tentative agreement with its biggest union on getting cost
concessions that would help the paper survive, though not erase
its losses.
"I'm happy they reached some sort of agreement," Kerry
said, adding that he did not know the details of the deal.
Kerry invited representatives of the newspaper, TV news and
online media businesses, including Google Inc, where many people read their news, to discuss how to stave off an industry collapse.
He said the hearing was the first in a series that will
focus on how to help newspapers adjust to the new media
landscape.
They are considering tax relief methods, including how and
when publishers can classify operating losses, and whether
newspapers should be allowed to operate as non-profit companies
for educational purposes.
"I think it's worth looking at this non-profit piece,
certainly clarifying that," Kerry said.
Subcommittee members said they wanted to figure out how to
preserve "the core societal function that is served by an
independent and diverse news media."
"I'm afraid we're going to lose that watchdog if we don't
figure this out," said Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat
whose father was a journalist for the Associated Press and the
Minneapolis Star Tribune.
- Reuters