Government Has No Business Bailing Out Newspapers the People Don't Want

The St. Petersburg Times is owned by the nonprofit Poynter Institute, but it still pays taxes on advertising and subscription revenue. The paper's legal counsel, George Rahdert, says adding a tax exemption creates a political problem. "I think it really puts the role of censor or critic with the IRS. So the IRS would be able to say, 'This isn't fair or critical reporting.' " There are numerous public policy charities with billions of dollars in assets that could adopt any one of these newspapers just as Poynter did, with no special legislative perks.

Cardin's bill insists newspapers classified for tax purposes as nonprofits would not be allowed to endorse political candidates, just as typical nonprofits are not supposed to engage in direct advocacy for candidates. But such an arrangement impairs the independence of newspapers and hurts their efforts to build public trust. It only magnifies the outrage if bailouts or tax exemptions enable newspapers to copy the trendy liberalism of public broadcasters.

Newspapers are dying, and unless they adapt and change with new technology, they will be gone. The government can't swoop in and rescue newspapers in every city and small town. In the end, it's unfair for the government to try to save some while others have already gone under. More to the point, it's none of the government's business to support newspapers, and newspapers can only have their public trust damaged by government support.

The newspaper industry is dying because taxpayers don't want it. Why, then, should Congress insist they continue paying for it?