Newspapers need cash now, they say

[stevedeshazer]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/09/25/newspapers_need_cash_now_they_say/

<snip>

NEW YORK - US newspaper publishers, suffering advertising and circulation drops, may need government help to survive as their cash reserves dwindle, the Newspaper Association of America told Congress yesterday.

“Newspapers need cash now,’’ John Sturm, president of the trade group, told the Joint Economic Committee in Washington.

Congress could help through proposals to allow newspapers to become nonprofit organizations or to alter how they are taxed for net operating losses, he said.

Newspaper publishers have slashed jobs, cut pay, reduced the number sections, and raised newsstand prices to help cope with record declines in advertising sales.

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Are newspapers too big to fail?

[Rex]

1. Oh'kay.

Hey all you big corps out there, better get in line to steal the last amount of funds the Treasury...oh wait they just printed more money. Nevermind, go back to work. The economy is fine.

[elleng]

2. Yea, well so do I.

[Name removed]

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[SpiralHawk]

5. Give us some real news, not right-wing spin, and then we'll buy your rags

Newspapers FAILED America and the truth for 8 years while the Republicons trashed the nation with their perverted Family Values, war lies, and profligate borrow-and-spend insanity...and any American who was paying attention knows it and kissed off the so-called 'news'papers for the Intertubes.

[madokie]

6. We still have two papers delivered but

I get most of my news from the internet and I don't see that changing anytime soon. In fact what'll be in this morning paper is what I've already read yesterday on the 'net. I do see that one of the papers we get is going to go by the wayside though and it's the paper I learned to read with by reading the comics so its kinda hard for me to give it up. The other one has all the local crap in it so we need to keep it so we know what the hell is going on in our county.

[elocs]

7. Before too many get into the too bad, so sad attitude about newspapers

just remember there are a lot of little people who make their living through newspapers who have nothing to do with the stories or how they are reported. Like me, for instance. I am a private contractor for USA Today which simply means I have a motor route and deliver papers to stores and newspaper racks.

Newspapers have lots of employees or those who make their living from newspapers who are like me, simply little bricks in the wall. Although I am at the bottom of the chain, if I don't deliver the papers they do not get sold and if they don't get sold they don't get read.

[TXRAT2]

8. The time's they are a changing.

I find the internet a much more trust worthy avenue for news, and far more convenient.

[ixion]

9. yeah, well, join the club

geez... who the hell do they think they are?

[Hubert Flottz]

10. You can't put the internets in the bottom of your birdcage...

But the birdcage is where most of the newspapers that failed us for eight years belong. It's a sad day when the funny papers has more credibility than the front page.

EDIT...I'll bet Bob Ross's "Happy Little Trees" are even more happy about all this!

[tanyev]

11. I want to know how much money the Dallas Morning News wasted

on putting out a smaller summary version (The Briefing, they called it) which they delivered to every household in the area 2-3 times a week for several months. There's also a local suburban paper which comes free of charge a couple times a week. I do not want them, I do not pay for them, and yet they think they have the right to trash up my lawn every week.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. We are not responsible for their flawed business model