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Senate panel looks at struggling newspapers

By: ANDREW MIGA
The Associated Press
May 6, 2009

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., Tuesday, April 28, 2009 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A Senate panel is looking at the plight of struggling newspapers in the digital era.

Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday's hearing on the future of journalism comes as many papers falter and new ways of delivering information multiply by the day.

The Boston Globe in Kerry's home state of Massachusetts is the latest major paper facing the threat of closure unless it can cut costs.

Kerry said steps must be taken so the news media can stay diverse and independent.

Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland wants to help newspapers restructure as not-for-profit organizations.

Among those scheduled to testify is David Simon, who is a former reporter at the Baltimore Sun and creator of the HBO drama "The Wire."



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All comments on this page are subject to our Terms of Use and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Examiner or its staff. Comment box is limited to 250 words.

Wordsworth

May 6, 2009

Stay the Hell out of private business. Hasn't your party done enough to the economy as it is??? I suppose you want o give the Printer's Union majority stock ownership and guarantee profits for their pension fund.

 

Texas Pete

May 6, 2009

Don't sweat it, Wordsworth. The "media" the Dems are trying to save has not been a "private business" for some time. More like a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democrat party. The collapse of the newspapers in this context is quite predictable. I can't think of a better outcome now than the "elite" media being guided into the future by the dead hand of government. I give them no more than 5 years until we're asking "what was a newspaper?"

 

Cavallo

May 6, 2009

Isn't that sweet the media can't garner the patronage of the American taxpayer, they have in part been rejected by the taxpayer, while other members of the media are flourishing, and now the government wants to take taxpayers money and give it to the media, even though the public has rejected them.

It seems like we have made a giant leap from socialism to communism in one fell swoop. No wonder Kerry was in favor of the Communist Vietnam regime it seems he is one of them.

 

Kyle from Waco

May 6, 2009

Pleeese don't tell me government money is now going into privately run newspapers. Anyone ever hear of the word SOCIALISM. I have. I don't like it.

 

Robnot

May 7, 2009

It is sad to see this print medium losing ground, but it's definitely a "for profit" PRIVATE business. I've worked at newspapers where publishers/editors have insisted that 80% of a page of newsprint be advertising, leaving only 20% for actual NEWS.....

 

anti-statist

May 7, 2009

Now of course, the good senators would never expect the newspapers to be beholden to them for bailing them out. The Senators would simply allow them to operate as they please - managing themselves as they see fit and printing whatever they wish - because they respect freedom of speech so much. After giving them bailout money, the Senate would never expect the newspapers to change their content or fire certain executives at their command. The Senate would expect them to continue being completely objective, like say, Chris "Tingle up my leg" Matthews.

A government consultant once told me the government version of the Golden Rule. "He who has the gold, makes the rules."

 


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