Jan 19, 2009

A going concern

In today's Los Angeles Times, Geneva Overholser, director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, and Geoffrey Cowan, dean emeritus of the USC Annenberg School, argue that the government should do more to boost the prospects of our downtrodden print media - no bailout, but some friendly legislation that helps preserve and create jobs. From the article:
There are many areas for creative solutions. Congress could increase postal-rate subsidies for magazines. It could change tax policy to remove barriers to philanthropies purchasing major news outlets. FCC policies, including rules against cross-ownership, could be reconceived to reflect the new realities of the information marketplace. Antitrust laws could be revised to allow publications to band together to charge for content. The founders understood that writers should be compensated for their work and included the copyright clause in the Constitution. We need to be equally aggressive in finding new ways to protect and reward journalism's intellectual property in this new era.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never thought I would hear a bailout that could top the auto industry, the banking industry, the mortgage industry, etc. But, alas, I now have. I sure would welcome a bailout for the likes of Zell, Singleton, etc. and feel secure that the business plan they would put together would reward journalists for their work. Kind of like the one they are using now. Give me a break.

Bradley J. Fikes said...

Yet more pearls of wisdom from superannuated journo-academicians about how to fight that newfangled Internet . . .