Posted on 09/22/2009 3:26:25 PM PDT by pissant
President Barack Obama says he would be “happy to look at” legislation to bail out, with juicy tax breaks, newspapers that restructure into “nonprofit” businesses.
Good journalism, Obama told editors of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade in an interview, is “critical to the health of our democracy.”
But once-dominant newspapers — especially those whose news and editorials slant liberal and pro-Democrat — have been losing readers and advertising
dollars to Internet sites with more diverse views. Since January 2008, 26,000
newspaper jobs have been eliminated, and several prominent newspapers have filed for bankruptcy.
Obama appears to be throwing this tax-exemption life preserver to save his party's old political allies from extinction. Would he do likewise if most newspapers promoted conservative or Republican views? Would all newspapers — or only politically-favored ones — get secure tax-free status?
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Actually the earliest papers not only were “non profit,” they had regular losses and were routinely subsidized by the political parties. So I guess not much has changed.
Ummmmm... Barry?? “Losing money hand-over-fist” is NOT the same as “non-profit”...
Thomas Jefferson letter to John Norvell in response to Norvell’s advice about starting a newspaper.
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/P/tj3/writings/brf/jefl179.htm
No love lost between the press and Jefferson.
Why in the world Obama wants the government to take over every failed business is just beyond me. Are the newspapers too big to fail? I think not.
“Where, you ignorant marxist fool, do you get the authority to “consider” doing ANYTHING WHATSOEVER about the newspapers.”
You don’t need the authority when you trash the Constitution like he does. Where does he get the authority to do any of the things he wants....?? You don’t - you just know you can ramrod it through a (D) Senate and HOR.
Everyday this guy scares me more and more. I hope we can wait this out for another 3 1/2 years....
More anti-Constitutional BS from the anointed one and his 0bamunist minions.
There is absolutely NO Constitutional authority for about 75% of the stuff the government is doing, and that includes this patently offensive notion.
IMPEACH THE BASTARD NOW.
Any newspapers that want to convert themselves to nonprofit status and operate under the current laws are welcomed to do so.
But the idea of our government legislating some windfall for an overwhelmingly left-leaning, bloated, group of supposedly ‘serious’ journalists rather than the more nimble new media press that has sprung up across an actually representative political spectrum is abhorrent. And our wimpy Republican pols should shout this down loud and early.
Well....all businesses who lost money last year should write a letter to him asking be be declared non-profit.
People who bought the services Newspapers had to sell, found more bang for their buck elsewhere.
Oh goody! /sarc
American Pravda on the horizon.
We can’t wait another 3.5 years to be rid of this scourage that is Obama.
You have nothing to lose but your chains, comrade.
There is no Pravda in Izvestia and there is no Izvestia in Pravda.
Hello PBS & NPR in print.
Can you hear me now, Winston Smith?
Non-profit? Another way of saying, “government controlled”
Great way to control what comes out in the newspapers - OWN THEM.
The Obama Administrations plan to bailout the newspapers in three easy steps:
1. The Federal Government will procure taxpayer money to be used for the newspaper industry.
2. ?
3. Profit
(h/t South Park)
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