With newspapers failing, some on the left say federal help–tax breaks, perhaps–could save an industry that is key to democracy. Conservatives say the market and taxpayers have decided, and no one wants a paper that's beholden to lawmakers anyway. Should the government help save newspapers?
Edited by Steve St. Angelo
Yes
Across the nation, small towns and big cities are losing something irreplaceable—their local news.
Benjamin L. Cardin,
a Democratic senator from Maryland, was a member of the House from 1987 to 2006.
From conservative publications to more liberal media outlets, all have been affected by changes in the newspaper industry that have made it increasingly difficult to survive as an independent voice. Do we need to create new options that will help ensure the survival of investigative and insightful reporting that is most often done today by newspapers? I believe we do....
No
In a very real sense, your daily newspaper is the most incredible bargain in the world.
L. Brent Bozell III is founder and president of the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog group.
For only two bits, you can unfold dozens of pages and find scores of news stories, on everything from national defense to local parades. The newspaper gives you a passport to foreign lands and a trip to the bleachers of baseball games.
And yet, the newspaper industry is dying. Denver's Rocky Mountain News, the Baltimore Examiner, and the Cincinnati Post...
What do you think?
Reader Comments Read all comments (3)
William of AZ 4:04PM December 04, 2009
Rodolfo Torres of WI 9:30PM May 06, 2009
Callejero of NJ 1:00PM May 05, 2009