Posted on 05/04/2009 8:52:54 PM PDT by FromLori
News that the Boston Globe could shutter its doors any day now, leaving the city without its most famous paper, prompted some reporter to ask White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs whether there would be a bailout for the newspaper industry. Gibbs said no: "I don’t know what, in all honesty, government can do about it.” But then he added that, "(Obama) believes there has to be a strong free press" and that the President has expressed "concern and sadness" over the state of the industry.
Ding-Ding-Ding.
Folks, a newspaper bailout is coming. Maybe not in time to save the Boston Globe, but certainly in time to save "systemically important" papers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and the LA Times.
First it starts with the president expressing "concern and sadness." Then that's followed up by a series of columnists and pundits talking about how the lack of a thriving fourth estate posed "systemic risk" to democracy.
A free and informed press with the resources to criticize business and government is especially important during this crisis, they'll say. Internet journalism, we'll be told, is a positive development, but alas there are too many people not online -- particularly the poor, the most vulnerable in society -- so a digital only press can not suffice.
Next we'll be told that the economic crisis is an extraordinary black swan. The economic crisis is not the newspapers' fault, they'll say (they played by the rules!) and had there been no crisis, then newspapers would've had the time to develop a sustainable digital-based business model. Alas, the economic crisis circumvented what would've been a smooth transition.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
If the US Government bails out the newspapers, then we need to take up arms.
We may think things are greatnow but ultimately, there will be a consolidation with only a few controlling vast swaths of information.
I expect to see some kind of relief program for the major newspapers. WaPo, NYT, LAT, ect., are primary propaganda organs for the Left and their communist allies in the U.S. (much like the ACLU in legal matters). BHO and the Dem Congress are not going to let them die.
This may have been the whole point of this clearly induced financial meltdown:
Govt bails out failed automaker, ends up owning a big piece of it, nobody complains.
Next step, govt bails out failed newspaper, ends up owning most of it, decides to appoint a “responsible manager” to run it.
Someone like Rahm Emanuel...
Rush could buy the New York Times, and probably make it work.
Government would have been bailing out buggy-whip manufacturers if Zero’d been running things in the ‘30s...
There are newspapers and there are newspapers. Some are actually doing well (local papers, the WSJ)
The deceitful democrat party propaganda outlets are failing big time as readers vote with their feet.
But he won't because he knows it can't.
News Corp, Hearst, McClatchy, Scripps-Howard, Cox.
Wouldn't that be "only a few controlling vast swaths of information"?
Just as the ‘Rats are asking for 94.2 billion in emergency cash. Coincidence? I think NOT
Even if they bailed out newspapers, what will change other than the fact that money will be wasted? Those who don’t read newspapers now still won’t read them. I don’t even buy or read my local rag, not even on their website. The next step for Obamalini is to control the Internet and ban talk radio. So I really don’t think there’ll be a bailout of newspapers because nothing will change.
Without the New York Times, how in hell will the evening network newscasts know what to report? And in what order?
Pravda East, Pravda West, Pravda North & Pravda South
Free as in freedom? Ha, of course not. Free as in "It's free because the Government will pay for everything!"
Any bailouts for conservative newspapers?
Yes and those that remain will have even greater control
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