21 Apr 10
My local newspaper is dying, and it got me to thinking. Will there come a time in the US when small town news will be covered/delivered by the state? If so will this be a bad thing? Right now local papers are unable to make money, hell big papers are making money, so will there come a time when the government gets into the news business?
21 Apr 10
1 edit
Originally posted by cheshirecatstevensIn Canada we have an entire television/radio station network (CBC) run by the government. It's funded by taxpayers and is used to promote canadian cultural values and moral principles while delivering top notch unbiased news and journalism. The CBC is respected worldwide and is similar to the BBC.
My local newspaper is dying, and it got me to thinking. Will there come a time in the US when small town news will be covered/delivered by the state? If so will this be a bad thing? Right now local papers are unable to make money, hell big papers are making money, so will there come a time when the government gets into the news business?
Why the US hasn't hopped on board is obvious; US citizens only think tax money should go to big companies as "incentives" (ie big oil)
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by cheshirecatstevensIf Barry gets his way, only approved story lines will run. Maybe owning the newspapers could help make that happen...
My local newspaper is dying, and it got me to thinking. Will there come a time in the US when small town news will be covered/delivered by the state? If so will this be a bad thing? Right now local papers are unable to make money, hell big papers are making money, so will there come a time when the government gets into the news business?
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by uzlessWe have NPR, and most states have public radio. I was thinking more along the lines of print media covering local happenings.
In Canada we have an entire television/radio station network (CBC) run by the government. It's funded by taxpayers and is used to promote canadian cultural values and moral principles while delivering top notch unbiased news and journalism. The CBC is respected worldwide and is similar to the BBC.
Why the US hasn't hopped on board is obvious; US citizens only think tax money should go to big companies as "incentives" (ie big oil)
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by uzlessIts coming, trust me. 😉
In Canada we have an entire television/radio station network (CBC) run by the government. It's funded by taxpayers and is used to promote canadian cultural values and moral principles while delivering top notch unbiased news and journalism. The CBC is respected worldwide and is similar to the BBC.
Why the US hasn't hopped on board is obvious; US citizens only think tax money should go to big companies as "incentives" (ie big oil)
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by cheshirecatstevensNewspapers are becoming obsolete. The newspaper industry will obviously be hard pressed to acknowledge this fact, but the fact remains. Soon, everyone is going to be sitting on the train or bus reading The Wall Street Journal on their Ipads or Kindles; not reading a physical newspaper.
My local newspaper is dying, and it got me to thinking. Will there come a time in the US when small town news will be covered/delivered by the state? If so will this be a bad thing? Right now local papers are unable to make money, hell big papers are making money, so will there come a time when the government gets into the news business?
The government should not waste taxpayer money to fund a dinosaur. If a local news source thinks it can sell local news, it's much better off starting a website.
The State already has its own websites.
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by cheshirecatstevensA very good question. I agree that the larger newspapers in the larger markets will continue to survive, and national and world level news coverage will continue to be strong.
My local newspaper is dying, and it got me to thinking. Will there come a time in the US when small town news will be covered/delivered by the state? If so will this be a bad thing? Right now local papers are unable to make money, hell big papers are making money, so will there come a time when the government gets into the news business?
But I can easily see many small towns where there might be no way to profitably gather local news.
The big problem with having government run or fund the newspaper is that pretty much everything that a newspaper covers involves the government playing some kind of a role (whether it be a program at the local school, or the police efforts to solve a crime, or arguments over whether to enact a new zoning law, or whatever). If the government itself was involved in running the newspaper, how could that paper offer information or opinions that might criticize the government or make it look bad?
21 Apr 10
2 edits
Originally posted by sh76My main concern is how do you pay the people to go out and actually gather the news. Whether that news is printed on paper or on a website, someone still has to do the interviews and the research and then write the articles. What happens if there's no way to do this profitably in a given small town?
Newspapers are becoming obsolete. The newspaper industry will obviously be hard pressed to acknowledge this fact, but the fact remains. Soon, everyone is going to be sitting on the train or bus reading The Wall Street Journal on their Ipads or Kindles; not reading a physical newspaper.
The government should not waste taxpayer money to fund a dinosaur. If a l ...[text shortened]... local news, it's much better off starting a website.
The State already has its own websites.
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by sh76Its kinda a shame that the written word is being replaced by the web. After all, what is on the web is far more easily controlled, or can be controlled as well as monitored. It makes me a little uneasy in terms of Big Brother.
Newspapers are becoming obsolete. The newspaper industry will obviously be hard pressed to acknowledge this fact, but the fact remains. Soon, everyone is going to be sitting on the train or bus reading The Wall Street Journal on their Ipads or Kindles; not reading a physical newspaper.
The government should not waste taxpayer money to fund a dinosaur. If a l ...[text shortened]... local news, it's much better off starting a website.
The State already has its own websites.
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by cheshirecatstevensnewspaper production is probably getting cheaper due to digitalization.
My local newspaper is dying, and it got me to thinking. Will there come a time in the US when small town news will be covered/delivered by the state? If so will this be a bad thing? Right now local papers are unable to make money, hell big papers are making money, so will there come a time when the government gets into the news business?
might see consolidation, tho.
or maybe your local was badly run or just didn't respond to changes in conditions quickly enough.
i grew up in a town of 12,000 and their paper is still there.
now live in an embedded town of around 90-100K, they still have their paper and neighboring towns have theirs or even multiple papers (fairly dense market, though).
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by sh76Agreed.
Newspapers are becoming obsolete. The newspaper industry will obviously be hard pressed to acknowledge this fact, but the fact remains. Soon, everyone is going to be sitting on the train or bus reading The Wall Street Journal on their Ipads or Kindles; not reading a physical newspaper.
The government should not waste taxpayer money to fund a dinosaur. If a l ...[text shortened]... local news, it's much better off starting a website.
The State already has its own websites.
21 Apr 10
Originally posted by sh76Brother, you are not thinking along the right lines. Those newspapers represent a social contract with editors, reporters, and newspapermen! The government MUST step in to protect every single one of those jobs -- that's government's primary function -- to protect the workers!!!
Newspapers are becoming obsolete. The newspaper industry will obviously be hard pressed to acknowledge this fact, but the fact remains. Soon, everyone is going to be sitting on the train or bus reading The Wall Street Journal on their Ipads or Kindles; not reading a physical newspaper.
The government should not waste taxpayer money to fund a dinosaur. If a l ...[text shortened]... local news, it's much better off starting a website.
The State already has its own websites.
If necessary, we will raise taxes on the rich to subsidize newspapers -- even expand them to create new newspaper jobs!
Socialism. Rah.
21 Apr 10
2 edits
Originally posted by whodeyWouldn't it be a lot easier to control the written word?
Its kinda a shame that the written word is being replaced by the web. After all, what is on the web is far more easily controlled, or can be controlled as well as monitored. It makes me a little uneasy in terms of Big Brother.
If big brother wants to shut down a newspaper, its easy enough to find the place where they print it and close it and arrest everyone working there.
If big brother wants to shut down a website, who even knows where the server is located? It might not even be located within the US. Why do you think its so hard to stop all the people who send out spam or viruses?
21 Apr 10
1 edit
Originally posted by MelanerpesThe websites make money, either by selling advertising or by charging for subscriptions.
My main concern is how do you pay the people to go out and actually gather the news.
If you put out a good enough product, you can make money on the web. Just ask Matt Drudge.