NEWSPAPERS
SITUATION:
Hedge funds buy local newspapers then cut costs & staff to enhance profit.
Newspapers becoming owned by economic interest divorced from communities
SIGNIFICANCE;
Advertising & subscriptions have been dismantled as revenue sources.
Print newspapers failed to adapt to new publishing model.
Closure of local newspaper fosters more political division.
Private equity funds seek to max cash flow & slash costs of newspapers.
And are not investing in digital media to replace print versions.
This has made it impossible for newspapers to survive.
SOLUTIONS:
Local NPs are replanting in communities with non-profit ownership.
Major action needed by Congress with tax legislation & tax breaks.
Includes waiving of Capital Gains taxes, low cost financing, payroll tax breaks.
Need to block newspaper buys & mergers that are anti-trust.
Proposed Local Journalism Sustainability Act proposes tax credits.
PEOPLE INVOLVED IN ACTION:
Penny Muse Abernathy. Expert on Local News
Sen Marie Cantwell, D Wash
STATS:
Number of reporters of local news dropped by 60% in last 2 years.
Now 6,700 local newspapers in U.S.
SOURCES:
1)“ Billionaire owner of Los Angeles Times denies exploring sale of company” – https://thehill.com/homenews/media/539656-billionaire-owner-of-los-angeles-times-denies-exploring-sale-of-company
2) How to stop hedge funds from wrecking local news “ – https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-06-08/newspapers-hedge-funds-journalism-business-models
