Subsidized journalism
The latest edition of the Columbia Journalism Review contains a feature by Bree Nordenson calling for news outlets to be government-subsidized. See, newsgathering is expensive, and the Internet is reducing newspapers’ revenues – because it increases competition between papers, making it hard to charge subscription fees; and because Web sites like Craigslist siphon off advertising. Thus, rather than adapt our business models to this growing trend, why not get the government to pony up some cash? It works for farmers, defense industries and Amtrak, right? And PBS and NPR are never pressured by the government, are they?







