Say No to Newspaper Bailouts

Townhall.com ^ | December 3, 2008 | Michelle Malkin

[Pilsner]

A bail out of any industry can be abused by an Obama Administration to influence the press. Will GM, Ford and Citi Bank keep advertising on FOX News, or in the Wall Street Journal?

Mexico had "freedom of the press" for decades under one party, PRI, rule. They also had a nationalized paper industry. You had to purchase paper from the Government -- there was no other seller.

Newspapers that took hard a line against the government were not shut down by the PRI controlled government. But their news print orders were often "delayed" or "misfiled" or newsprint did arrive, but it was damaged. Publishers who stayed in business were those who either towed the PRI line, or successfully calculated just how much criticism would be tolerated.

[T Lady]

'The Republican governor and the Democratic attorney general of Connecticut went on the record last week in support of government intervention for failing local newspapers. God save us from bipartisanship. Their joint statements pushing a salvage program came in response to news that The New Britain Herald, The Bristol Press and 11 weekly papers across the state face closure. About 100 jobs are at stake. This is bad news, no question. But cause for apocalyptic talk and expansive meddling by politicians? Please.'

She isn't kidding. It doesn't surprise me a RINO's involved with wanting to keep her good standing with the MSM.

'"This is the worst financial turmoil I have ever seen, not only in our state but in our nation," Gov. M. Jodi Rell lamented as she expressed her support for some sort of government/media salvation plan. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asserted: "The newspaper is an information lifeline. It provides really an essential service." Among the "essential services" Blumenthal thinks taxpayers should prop up: marriage notices and school sports announcements.

These items are easily and effectively disseminated online. Connecticut consumers who are passing up the newspapers that offer these products obviously don't agree with Blumenthal that it's "essential" to get them in dead-tree form. But Rell seems to believe that quaintness is an argument for government funding: "There's something about having that paper and being able to sit there with your cup of coffee or your tea and read through and find out not only the news but the real feel for a community."'

It would probably be worth saving if the MSM actually told the truth and stuck to the facts every once in a while, but they haven't, especially during this election cycle. And if you want the 'real feel for a community,' getting involved in some local activities doesn't hurt.

'Local lemonade stands give you a "real feel for a community," too. Should Johnny and Susie get handouts for keeping it real? Should we resurrect Woolworth with some of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's bottomless bailout billions while we're at it? Why not bring back town criers with public subsidies, as well?'

That's priceless. And Malkin was certainly correct when stating it wouldn't be long before this happened.

So, don''t be shocked when you tune into CNN, MSNBC, FOX, ABC, CBC, NBC, or PBS and see "Pinch" and his counterparts sometime in the near future on Capitol Hill with their tin cups and knee pads.