Posted on 03/25/2020 3:46:48 AM PDT by SkyPilot
The coronavirus COVID-19 has upended everything, including business as usual in Washington. In a matter of days, facing the reality of a nationwide shutdown and a worsening economic crisis, Congress got serious about spending money—a lot of it.
A recovery package in the trillions of dollars is expected soon, and more stimulus bills are likely to follow. While the most powerful lobbies in Washington—the airlines, the oil companies, the chambers of commerce—are ready with their wish lists, the media and policymakers aren’t talking enough about how recovery and stimulus bills could help journalism.
Free Press, the independent, nonprofit advocacy organization I lead, champions structural solutions to the news business’s dire financial problems. We’ve long campaigned for more federal and state support for public media, opposed media consolidation, and argued that journalism is too important to democracy to be left to the whims of the market.
In the face of this pandemic, the public needs good, economically secure journalists more than ever. As most of us are sheltered in place, journalists are out there tracking the spread of COVID-19, separating fact from fiction, and holding politicians and powerful institutions accountable. We need the press asking tough questions and digging through fine print—starting with this fast-moving recovery bill, which is both absolutely necessary and particularly ripe for corruption and boondoggles. Crucially, we need local reporters delivering information on how to stay safe and healthy, who is saving lives, what institutional failures are making matters worse.
To support that work, we need a journalism stimulus now. Free Press is asking for at least $5 billion in emergency funds right away—which would be less than half of one percent of a trillion-dollar recovery package—and that Congress put a foundation in place to help sustain journalism over the long term.
(Excerpt) Read more at cjr.org ...
Surprised they’re not demanding $3 trillion as an industry, so a select few “journalists” can distribute what they want to who they see fit.
The purpose of the “stimulus” is to fund the Left for the next decade. The Left is milking this incident for all its worth.
Trump needs to veto the bill, or his long term presidency is doomed.
When has anything good ever come out of Columbia?
“Journalists” aren’t licensed or capable of non-biased reporting.
What qualifications are needed to write in a journal, anyway? A child can do that.
Hey Craig, go F yourself, is that stimulating enough for ya?
Why does one need a bailout to ask questions and post answers and opinions online?
I’m all for fitting them out with muzzles. How much would that cost?
There is no need whatsoever for 5 thousand blockheads parroting one another day-in and day-out.
Learn to code.
Shows how smart this guy is, holding his phone for taking a vertical picture of a severely horizontal subject!
LOL - that's wonderful!
Agreed no money for more SJW!
From their website. A ‘just society’ guess mine is a parallel universe? Wow!
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We believe that positive social change, racial justice and meaningful engagement in public life require equitable access to technology, diverse and independent ownership of media platforms, and journalism that holds leaders accountable and tells people what’s actually happening in their communities.
We seek to change the media to transform democracy to realize a just society.
Since Free Press was founded in 2003, the media landscape has changed dramatically. Media and technology are now intertwined in our daily lives, vital to the health of our communities, and essential to a functioning democracy. We believe the fight for racial justice must be at the center of transforming our media and our democracy.
Media and technology can be used to oppress people — or to liberate them. We focus on these powerful platforms and tools because they have an outsized influence not just on our political system but on the kind of society we will have and the lives we will lead.
I kept reading, smiling, thinking some humorist was really knocking it out of the park ....
Joe and Mika get the big bucks to look like Sam the Eagle and Beaker?
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