Posted on 03/24/2009 12:47:27 PM PDT by Red Steel
CHICAGO Newspapers perform a public service for democracy and should be allowed to operate as tax-exempt non-profits, U.S. Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D.-Md., proposed Tuesday.
Cardin introduced a bill that would explicitly include newspapers among organizations eligible for 501(c)(3) status. The non-profit status is the same that public radio and television have now.
The legislation would give a national green light for newspapers to adopt the so-called Low Profit Limited Liability Company business model, often shortened to L3C.
The L3C model, which the Newspaper Guild supports as an alternative newspaper ownership model, is the subject of a feature story in the current print issue of Editor & Publisher.
Under Cardin's legislation, newspaper revenue would be tax-exempt, and contributions to papers would be tax deductible. The status would also allow non-profits to invest in newspapers, something that is forbidden now.
Cardin said action is needed to help preserve local newspapers.
"We are losing our newspaper industry," Cardin said in a statement. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy."
The Associated Press quoted him as saying on the Senate floor, "As local papers are closing, we're losing a valuable tradition in America -- critically important to our communities, critically important to our democracy."
Newspapers that accept non-profit status would not be allowed to endorse candidates, but they could cover political news just as they do now, Cardin said.
And finally,
“Why should freedom of speech and freedom of the press be allowed? Why should a government which is doing what it believes to be right allow itself to be criticized? It would not allow opposition by lethal weapons. Ideas are much more fatal things than guns. Why should any man
be allowed to buy a printing press and disseminate pernicious opinion calculated to embarrass the government?”
Nikolai Lenin (Obama I)
1920
Big happy front page stories about Obama and the good he is doing, trash pieces on anything that even whiffs of GOP. Its all propaganda and giving them tax exempt status is just another ploy to prop up communist propaganda media.
Pravda is a more reliable source than CBSNBCABCCNNNYTWAPO
Last time I checked, you only paid taxes on profits. The Obamaloon will fix that soon.
Now that is a great observation. While it seemed plausible that Slim threw money down a rat hole for some "entry fee" into the political/economic big time here above the border, your hunch makes so much more sense.
Fixed it.
“Newspapers perform a public service for democracy”
Newspapers perform a propaganda service for democrats.
There, fixed it.
And while this is far from being a reality, if it does come to be then these "non-profit" newspaper's reporters will need to be referred to ad nauseum as "stringers" and the Feds that regulate non-profits as "Puppet Masters".
And if these "non-profits" are to become reality, does this mean that news wire services (AP, Reuters, AFP, UPI etc.) also must be "non-profit" before their stories are allowed to be published by a "non-profit" newspaper?
Why doesn’t the government just print their own press releases. Why do we have to pretend it would still be a free press?
Starve the beast.
I was wondering when the Congresscritters were going to get around to helping their propaganda arm, in this time of economic distress what with newsprint companies closing right and left. Our local errhead amerika (nova M) closed up a couple of weeks ago leaving the libtards without any Rhodes or Malloy - screaming on the Internet boards about how they should force NPR or some network to “GIVE” them air time. Next stop = Congress. It just isn’t fair being a libtard in a land of conservative talk radio - all the while they ignore their DNC TV outlets and NPR.
YES! No speech limits, political or otherwise, of any kind on all non-profits, like churches.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
501C3 organizations are subject to government regulation under the guise of "public policy" which means the government would control the content of the newspapers just like in any communist country.
This, and about half of the other crap they're trying to slip through the back door.
It’s amazing we see these things happening before our eyes. They’re getting their payoff for political cover. The corruption is everywhere but, “let them eat cake,” they say. I hope the guillotine fallows.
Houston/Galveston may be a big metro area but we still have a small town, help your neighbor git ‘er done attitude. Last week I had dinner at the Knights of Columbis Hall in Galveston that had 4 feet of water inside from Ike. The place looked great. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear!
This just acknowledges that the government burden on business’s is destroying them and for the gov’s favorite business’s they get relief from the government.
Thanks for the ping!
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