Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Democratic senator proposes non-profit status for newspapers; this country is headed down toilet



No other industry is more unworthy of taxpayer support than newspapers.

Yet that did not stop a Democratic U.S. senator today from proposing non-profit status for newspapers, leaving their advertising and other revenue untouched by Uncle Sam to survive.

This is madness. Newspapers have caused their own demise. And the Internet has liberated the people to get the full truth.

In Tennessee, newspapers already are unnecessarily exempt from the oppressive sales tax rate. Federal support would be further outrageous assistance.

But Marketwatch.com reports:

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- As a growing number of American newspapers halt daily publication or threaten to do so, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin introduced legislation Tuesday that would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofit organizations, providing significant tax breaks to the struggling industry.

Cardin, D-Md., said the decline of newspapers represents "a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy."
Under the proposal, newspapers could operate as nonprofits, if they chose to do so, claiming 501(c)(3) status for educational purposes, similar to public broadcasting.

'It is in the interest of our nation and good governance that we ensure [that newspapers] survive.'

— Sen. Benjamin Cardin

Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax-exempt, and contributions to support coverage or operations could be tax-deductible.

Nonprofit-status newspapers would not be allowed to make political endorsements but would be allowed to freely report on all issues, including political campaigns.

In a statement, Cardin acknowledged that consumers now have many other sources for news but said the public relies on newspapers "for in-depth reporting that follows important issues, records events and exposes misdeeds. In fact, most if not all sources of journalistic information ... gather their news from newspaper reporters who cover the news on a daily basis ... It is in the interest of our nation and good governance that we ensure [that newspapers] survive."



It is NOT in the public interest for newspapers to survive. They quit serving the people long ago for their own political bias and the bottom line.

The people of this nation are smart enough to tap into various media sources to receive all sides of the news, or coverage of issues and the most vulnerable newspapers no longer care about. Then the people can make their own decisions to keep this republic vibrant.

President Obama certainly showed the Internet to be a most effective tool for a free people to be heard during his campaign.

Just as with the decline of dinosaurs to make room for new life, so is the departure of newspapers to make room for a more democratic form of a free press.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So Tim, think the Herald will survive?