What a wonderful idea - they are already non-profit by accident, make it so on purpose

[dick thompson]

Senator proposes nonprofit status for newspapers ShareThis By LARRY MARGASAK Associated Press Writer Published: Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2009 - 8:39 am Last Modified: Tuesday, Mar. 24, 2009 - 10:03 am WASHINGTON -- Struggling newspapers should be allowed to operate as nonprofits similar to public broadcasting stations, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., proposed Tuesday. Cardin introduced a bill that would allow newspapers to choose tax-exempt status. They 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. Cardin said in a statement that the bill is aimed at preserving local newspapers, not large newspaper conglomerates. "We are losing our newspaper industry," said Cardin. "The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy." Cardin said his proposal may not be the best choice for some major newspapers, but "should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat." Speaking on the Senate floor, Cardin added, "As local papers are closing, we're losing a valuable tradition in America - critically important to our communities, critically important to our democracy." The head of the newspaper industry's trade group called the bill a positive step. John Sturm, president and chief executive officer of the Newspaper Association of America, said the proposal "recognizes changes in the law might be necessary to provide a boost to newspapers trying to weather this difficult economic period." He agreed with Cardin that his approach may not work for all newspapers, but said the legislation is a starting point for discussions already under way on ideas to help the industry. The association is a nonprofit organization representing the $47 billion newspaper industry and more than 2,000 newspapers in the United States and Canada. Reports of layoffs and furloughs at newspapers around the country have become common in recent months. Gannett Co., which publishes 85 daily newspapers, announced Monday that it was asking most of its 41,500 employees to give up a week's pay for the second time this year. The same day, Advance Publications, which publishes daily papers in nearly two dozen cities, said it was ordering 10-day furloughs and a pension freeze at nearly all its daily newspapers. ShareThis Comment Guidelines Dear Readers, Thank you for coming to sacbee.com. We welcome your participation in our commenting boards and forums, but we ask that you follow a few simple rules to keep the boards open and the discourse civil. We reserve the right to delete comments that contain inappropriate links, obscenities or vulgarities, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, plagiarism or copyright violations. You can help notify us of potential abuses by flagging comments that you find offensive. Action will be taken against users who repeatedly or flagrantly violate the rules. Keep it clean and you should have no problems. You must be logged in to leave a comment. Login | Register Comments: 7      Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first getmeabucket wrote on 03/24/2009 10:31:31 AM: Its not surprising a liberal wants to save his newspaper luckiest. However, Cardin's premise is completely wrong. It’s not the economy that is causing newspapers to fail. It’s the print media's refusal to acknowledge and reform their progressive opinionated reporting they pass off as unbiased journalism. Recommend (0) Report abuse My_Too_Sense wrote on 03/24/2009 10:19:21 AM: I think that Benjie is missing the point. Perhaps people have finally had it with the news media being so biased and tabloid that they won't pay for it anymore. Maybe if the handful of companies that control most of the major news publications stop feeding us their disguised agenda, we the people might actually have a chance to read the news and think for ourselves. Just an idea.... Recommend (0) Report abuse patnmimi wrote on 03/24/2009 10:10:06 AM: Aren't they already non-profit? Isn't that the problem? Oh KalTorak beat me to the punch! But seriously we really do need a local paper left or right. Recommend (0) Report abuse achandler wrote on 03/24/2009 10:08:03 AM: There is no money in news. That is why in the last ten years, we have seen the networks turn into Fox like organizations. They are stripped of their news reporting systems and replaced with entertainment. There are talking heads now, not news people on the beat. A non-profit would have to report as a public service, more along the lines of what we use to have in the 70s and 80s. Truth in reporting would be required (I hope) and it would fend off complete Corporate control of the media with just five companies owning more than 90% of the media outlets. This is probably the most serious societal problem of our time. Politcal organizations find it very easy to feed information to news organizations who use it for free. A non-profit status might belp. Recommend (0) Report abuse KalTorak wrote on 03/24/2009 09:57:55 AM: A more cynical person might note that this isn't a big change, as newspapers aren't exactly turning profits now. Recommend (0) Report abuse ConcreteL wrote on 03/24/2009 09:49:56 AM: Other than their owners' desire to run a for-profit enterprise, what in the law now would stop newspapers from becoming nonprofit organizations? Recommend (1) Report abuse Ashcat wrote on 03/24/2009 09:46:52 AM: How about, news papers should sell a better product. I'm fairly happy with the online papers...except for some of the reporting. I say, print Sunday and online the rest of the week. Use the savings to make a better product and let the market decide. Recommend (1) Report abuse More comments on this story: 1