How will newspapers be able to stay in business?
Senate hears a dim forecast for newspapers’ future By ANDREW MIGA | Associated Press | May 6, 09 6:43 PM CDT in Politics One way to save some of the nation’s struggling newspapers would be to let them become nonprofits similar to public broadcasting stations, a senator said Wednesday as editors and other journalists painted a grim future for daily print journalism. “We need to save our community newspapers and the investigative journalism they provide,” Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., told a subcommittee of the Senate’s Commerce Committee. Layoffs, closings and cutbacks have turned the nation’s newspapers into an “endangered species” as readers and advertisers rush to Web sites, said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the subcommittee chairman. Under a bill proposed by Cardin, newspapers turning to nonprofit status would no longer be able to make political endorsements but could report on all issues including political campaigns. Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax-exempt and contribution
WASHINGTON (AP) — One way to save some of the nation’s struggling newspapers would be to let them become nonprofits similar to public broadcasting stations, a senator said Wednesday as editors and other journalists painted a grim future for daily print journalism. Layoffs, closings and cutbacks have turned the nation’s newspapers into an “endangered species” as readers and advertisers rush to Web sites, said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the subcommittee chairman. Under a bill proposed by Cardin, newspapers turning to nonprofit status would no longer be able to make political endorsements but could report on all issues including political campaigns. Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax-exempt and contributions to support coverage could be tax deductible. The proposal would allow papers to operate under the same Internal Revenue Service status that is utilized by churches, hospitals, educational institutions, public broadcasting and other nonprofit institutions, said Cardin. T
