Big P
Well-Known Member
EDITORIAL: FTC floats Drudge tax
Journalism can reinvent itself without government 'help'
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
6:30 p.m., Friday, June 4, 2010
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking ways to "reinvent" journalism, and that's a cause for concern. According to a May 24 draft proposal, the agency thinks government should be at the center of a media overhaul. The bureaucracy sees it as a problem that the Internet has introduced a wealth of information options to consumers, forcing media companies to adapt and experiment to meet changing market needs. FTC's policy staff fears this new reality.
"There are reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism," the report states. With no faith that the market will work things out for the better, government thinks it must come to the rescue.
The ideas being batted around to save the industry share a common theme: They are designed to empower bureaucrats, not consumers. For instance, one proposal would, "Allow news organizations to agree jointly on a mechanism to require news aggregators and others to pay for the use of online content, perhaps through the use of copyright licenses."
In other words, government policy would encourage a tax on websites like the Drudge Report, a must-read source for the news links of the day, so that the agency can redistribute the funds collected to various newspapers. Such a tax would hit other news aggregators, such as Digg, Fark and Reddit, which not only gather links, but provide a forum for a lively and entertaining discussion of the issues raised by the stories. Fostering a robust public-policy debate, not saving a particular business model, should be the goal of journalism in the first place.
The report also discusses the possibility of offering tax exemptions to news organizations, establishing an AmeriCorps for reporters and creating a national fund for local news organizations. The money for those benefits would come from a suite of new taxes. A 5 percent tax on consumer electronic devices such as iPads, Kindles and laptops that let consumers read the news could be used to encourage people to keep reading the dead-tree version of the news. Other taxes might be levied on the radio and television spectrum, advertising and cell phones.
The conflict of interest in having the government pay or contribute to a newsman's salary could not be more obvious. Reporters and columnists would have little incentive to offer critical analyses of tax increases that might mean a boost in the pocketbook. Once Congress has the power to fund the news, it can at any time attach "strings" designed to promote certain viewpoints - in the name of fairness, of course. Each year at budget time, the Fourth Estate would scramble to be worthy in the eyes of Capitol Hill for increased support. It is hardly a surprise that the heavily subsidized National Public Radio frequently presents issues in a way favorable to Washington's tax-and-spend agenda.
Self-respecting journalists must reject this tempting government bribe as the FTC brings its proposals to a round-table discussion scheduled for June 15. When it comes to the media, consumers lose most when government suppresses innovation in the name of "saving" old business models.
© Copyright 2010 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Page 1 of 1
Reader Comments
24486cc47efcdda864293ef181ad20 says:
4 hours, 33 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
How is this freedom of the press again? Can you say control the message?
Mark as offensive
473372eb2760846bec91078ca457c2 says:
4 hours, 7 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
No real "news" in this story. Liberals have never met a tax they didn't like and taking money from the public to line the pockets of bureaucrats is their answer to everything. Unfortunately these jerks have never read the US Constitution, if they had they would know that such a tax is in violation of that document. On the other hand, liberals only view the Constitution as an obstacle to be circumvented on their way to take from the poor and give to themselves.
wendy_in_ok says:
4 hours ago
Mark as offensive
On the way to being Venezuela... or is that more like North Korea where ALL media is controlled by, owned by and published by the North Korean whack job, Mr. Ill
The FTC is now out of the control of us American taxpayers. This is just another wave of craziness put out by OUR presidential administration ( I hate it when they call it the Obama Administration-- we're footing the bill so it's ours) to get everyone tired out... well, they're not counting on wave after wave of fresh minds, mouths and bodies to take the place of those who need a rest. Keep it coming, we'll never tire of protecting our freedoms!
Spanky1 says:
3 hours, 39 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
Of course they would move quickly and decisively to censor the free press.
This is the most corrupt Administration ever.
0d73b3b130d526eefa01145f384bd5 says:
3 hours, 28 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
How many times do we have to hear some arrogant Congressman threaten to pull funding whenever somebody doesn't go along with the latest program? No highway funds. No education program funding. New management at GM. Banks threatened with audits. Or, as Rahm Imanuel famously said a year ago, "Which federal programs do you want to cut, Governor?" All predicated on the withholding of federal dollars.
Maybe this, from Ayn Rand: ""It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master."
Somebody in Washington had better bone up on what the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are all about.
f42b3b70037e2dca783d250c37a5f7 says:
3 hours, 18 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
Welcome comrades! Our most blessed leader knows what is best for us, oh unworthy sheeple. Soon, we will not be subjected to the incessant arguing that occurs on that hateful FOX News, but will hear only the quiet still words of our dear leader. All will be in harmony, as we rise to new levels of debt and to government spending yet unimaginable. We must throw off the yoke of these outdated 18th century concepts of freedom, constitution, and truth and be liberated to enjoy the unfolding of a glorious new world order. Dear leader knows what is best for us. Listen to his soothing words as he leads the way into the light . . .
Wait . . through the light. . what is this vision? Why do I see teeming masses of people with electronic counters on their heads? Ah, comrade, these are the damned, the taxpayers of the new world. They pay a tax for each breath, each thought, each word, each motion, for the good of dear leader so that he can spread his message of peace and bring harmony to our world.
Good bye America. R.I.P.
soxconn says:
3 hours, 17 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
The only thing Obama could not control during the election was the internet. If you take into account the Fairness Doctrine, net neutrality and now this, it is three attempts to constrain the first amendment like no other president has. Number four is placing an 'I believe the first amendment should be constrained for socially redeeming purposes' judge on the Supreme Court. Only time will tell.
f812d41f512a907eb3499831139a7c says:
3 hours, 2 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
We can get into all kinds of hissy contests about liberals and over zealous conservatives.
But, the bottom line "GOVERNMENT" should keep their noses out of news organizations period.
Tax incentives, redistributable funds, what a lark. It is rife with the probability of controlling news and how it is diseminated, be it a conservative venue or otherwise. When the government offers incentives/money, there will eventually be strings attached sooner or later. I have no objection when it comes to a certain amount of censorship by the government, sometimes its necessary in the world we live in today.
For those conservatives who wonder, I am a registered Republican, but that doesnt mean I vote the party line as I believe both parties have become somewhat corrupt and do their best to control what the general public learns about.
Spank the liberals, but also slap the conservatives, i.e. conservatives in Dallas who want the history books rewritten to their view point. Since Dallas is one of the largest purchasers of educational material, guess who else is going to get their point of view pushed down the throat. Publisher dont publish different texts for different areas, the publish one text, for the biggest buyer.
There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.
Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
Journalism can reinvent itself without government 'help'
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
6:30 p.m., Friday, June 4, 2010
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking ways to "reinvent" journalism, and that's a cause for concern. According to a May 24 draft proposal, the agency thinks government should be at the center of a media overhaul. The bureaucracy sees it as a problem that the Internet has introduced a wealth of information options to consumers, forcing media companies to adapt and experiment to meet changing market needs. FTC's policy staff fears this new reality.
"There are reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism," the report states. With no faith that the market will work things out for the better, government thinks it must come to the rescue.
The ideas being batted around to save the industry share a common theme: They are designed to empower bureaucrats, not consumers. For instance, one proposal would, "Allow news organizations to agree jointly on a mechanism to require news aggregators and others to pay for the use of online content, perhaps through the use of copyright licenses."
In other words, government policy would encourage a tax on websites like the Drudge Report, a must-read source for the news links of the day, so that the agency can redistribute the funds collected to various newspapers. Such a tax would hit other news aggregators, such as Digg, Fark and Reddit, which not only gather links, but provide a forum for a lively and entertaining discussion of the issues raised by the stories. Fostering a robust public-policy debate, not saving a particular business model, should be the goal of journalism in the first place.
The report also discusses the possibility of offering tax exemptions to news organizations, establishing an AmeriCorps for reporters and creating a national fund for local news organizations. The money for those benefits would come from a suite of new taxes. A 5 percent tax on consumer electronic devices such as iPads, Kindles and laptops that let consumers read the news could be used to encourage people to keep reading the dead-tree version of the news. Other taxes might be levied on the radio and television spectrum, advertising and cell phones.
The conflict of interest in having the government pay or contribute to a newsman's salary could not be more obvious. Reporters and columnists would have little incentive to offer critical analyses of tax increases that might mean a boost in the pocketbook. Once Congress has the power to fund the news, it can at any time attach "strings" designed to promote certain viewpoints - in the name of fairness, of course. Each year at budget time, the Fourth Estate would scramble to be worthy in the eyes of Capitol Hill for increased support. It is hardly a surprise that the heavily subsidized National Public Radio frequently presents issues in a way favorable to Washington's tax-and-spend agenda.
Self-respecting journalists must reject this tempting government bribe as the FTC brings its proposals to a round-table discussion scheduled for June 15. When it comes to the media, consumers lose most when government suppresses innovation in the name of "saving" old business models.
© Copyright 2010 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Page 1 of 1
Reader Comments
24486cc47efcdda864293ef181ad20 says:
4 hours, 33 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
How is this freedom of the press again? Can you say control the message?
Mark as offensive
473372eb2760846bec91078ca457c2 says:
4 hours, 7 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
No real "news" in this story. Liberals have never met a tax they didn't like and taking money from the public to line the pockets of bureaucrats is their answer to everything. Unfortunately these jerks have never read the US Constitution, if they had they would know that such a tax is in violation of that document. On the other hand, liberals only view the Constitution as an obstacle to be circumvented on their way to take from the poor and give to themselves.
wendy_in_ok says:
4 hours ago
Mark as offensive
On the way to being Venezuela... or is that more like North Korea where ALL media is controlled by, owned by and published by the North Korean whack job, Mr. Ill
The FTC is now out of the control of us American taxpayers. This is just another wave of craziness put out by OUR presidential administration ( I hate it when they call it the Obama Administration-- we're footing the bill so it's ours) to get everyone tired out... well, they're not counting on wave after wave of fresh minds, mouths and bodies to take the place of those who need a rest. Keep it coming, we'll never tire of protecting our freedoms!
Spanky1 says:
3 hours, 39 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
Of course they would move quickly and decisively to censor the free press.
This is the most corrupt Administration ever.
0d73b3b130d526eefa01145f384bd5 says:
3 hours, 28 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
How many times do we have to hear some arrogant Congressman threaten to pull funding whenever somebody doesn't go along with the latest program? No highway funds. No education program funding. New management at GM. Banks threatened with audits. Or, as Rahm Imanuel famously said a year ago, "Which federal programs do you want to cut, Governor?" All predicated on the withholding of federal dollars.
Maybe this, from Ayn Rand: ""It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master."
Somebody in Washington had better bone up on what the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are all about.
f42b3b70037e2dca783d250c37a5f7 says:
3 hours, 18 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
Welcome comrades! Our most blessed leader knows what is best for us, oh unworthy sheeple. Soon, we will not be subjected to the incessant arguing that occurs on that hateful FOX News, but will hear only the quiet still words of our dear leader. All will be in harmony, as we rise to new levels of debt and to government spending yet unimaginable. We must throw off the yoke of these outdated 18th century concepts of freedom, constitution, and truth and be liberated to enjoy the unfolding of a glorious new world order. Dear leader knows what is best for us. Listen to his soothing words as he leads the way into the light . . .
Wait . . through the light. . what is this vision? Why do I see teeming masses of people with electronic counters on their heads? Ah, comrade, these are the damned, the taxpayers of the new world. They pay a tax for each breath, each thought, each word, each motion, for the good of dear leader so that he can spread his message of peace and bring harmony to our world.
Good bye America. R.I.P.
soxconn says:
3 hours, 17 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
The only thing Obama could not control during the election was the internet. If you take into account the Fairness Doctrine, net neutrality and now this, it is three attempts to constrain the first amendment like no other president has. Number four is placing an 'I believe the first amendment should be constrained for socially redeeming purposes' judge on the Supreme Court. Only time will tell.
f812d41f512a907eb3499831139a7c says:
3 hours, 2 minutes ago
Mark as offensive
We can get into all kinds of hissy contests about liberals and over zealous conservatives.
But, the bottom line "GOVERNMENT" should keep their noses out of news organizations period.
Tax incentives, redistributable funds, what a lark. It is rife with the probability of controlling news and how it is diseminated, be it a conservative venue or otherwise. When the government offers incentives/money, there will eventually be strings attached sooner or later. I have no objection when it comes to a certain amount of censorship by the government, sometimes its necessary in the world we live in today.
For those conservatives who wonder, I am a registered Republican, but that doesnt mean I vote the party line as I believe both parties have become somewhat corrupt and do their best to control what the general public learns about.
Spank the liberals, but also slap the conservatives, i.e. conservatives in Dallas who want the history books rewritten to their view point. Since Dallas is one of the largest purchasers of educational material, guess who else is going to get their point of view pushed down the throat. Publisher dont publish different texts for different areas, the publish one text, for the biggest buyer.
There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you.
Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)
