Is Obama Open to Newspaper Bailout?
September 21, 2009 by Jason Bean
Filed under Computers
President Barack Obama was interviewed recently by the Toledo Blade / Toledo Times website/newspaper. The topic of discussion was the flailing and struggling that’s taking place in the print newspaper industry.
In the interview, the discussion started heading towards the idea of a potential government bailout or other options for the newspapers. President Obama said he hadn’t seen any detailed proposals, but would be open to options to help the struggling papers.
We’re advancing technology right? Why do we need to support an industry that doesn’t need to be saved? I believe the reason they’re failing is because the newspapers haven’t adjusted to the changing of media and the economic impacts of those changes.
Barack says he’s concerned that if there were no newspapers or other official media outlets, and all the news was left up to the blogosphere we’d be at a loss. I find that a bit interesting since the blogosphere is what he used so effectively in his campaign.
Why can’t the newspapers exist purely online and in a digital format? Why can’t the same people that have been writing for print media, just write for the web? Advertising they sold for the print edition can now be sold in their digital format and they can get an even wider subscriber base. For example, I’d love to be able to subscribe to my little hometown paper from the tiny city I grew up in. It’s not worth them printing and mailing me a copy of the paper, but to give me access to it electronically or all the stories on their website. That’s a great deal!
Bailing out the newspapers to keep printing birdcage carpet isn’t a great idea!
We might as well go ahead and bailout candle makers, blacksmiths and typewriter companies?
Bailing out for almost any company, is ridiculous.
However, while I don’t think newspaper companies need to have a ‘bailout’, there is still uses for print format. Just because YOU have access to the Internet, doesn’t mean everyone does or can access it all the time.
Newsprint is also useful on a paint job, Sunday comics page is nice for wrapping gifts, clipping coupons or recipes, cutting out graphics for physical use, etc. Just because you don’t, doesn’t mean newsprint has zero purpose.