Newspaper association asks FTC for exemption

Washington Business Journal ^ | April 26, 2002

[bleudevil]

Newspaper association asks FTC for exemption

Newspapers should be exempt from national "do-not-call" regulations proposed by the Federal Trade Commission, according to the Vienna-based Newspaper Association of America.

"As well-known corporate citizens" of their local communities, it is in newspapers' best interest to avoid the abusive telemarketing practices targeted by the FTC's proposed regulations, says John Sturm, CEO of the nonprofit newspaper industry group, in a statement.

But it apparently is in newspapers' best interest to continue telemarketing, as well.

"With nearly 60 percent of new subscription sales generated by telemarketing -- the single largest source of new subscribers -- imposing these onerous and unnecessarily restrictive requirements on newspaper telemarketing activities" would hurt the industry without giving customers any new protections, Sturm says.

[bleudevil]

I hope none of these newspapers printed editorials about how these bills will prevent those pesky telemarketers from bugging us.

[Tacis]

Newspaper telemarketing is one of my pet peeves. We've subscribed to the same morning paper for more than 20 years. It is a Disney paper and provides about the same level of journalistic excellence as, oh, say, ABC. But, my wife grumps every time I want to cancel.

Several times a year, they call me to ask if I want to subscribe. I used to be civil, accepting the lies the calls used to explain why the fact that I was already a subscriber was kept from him/her. Now, I just yell, curse and scream, trying to make the transaction as painful for the caller as possible.

Now, the politicians need the newspaper at election time, so they'll give them what they want, But, why not just have a law that requires folks to subscribe and avoid the calling, alltogether?