I hate to pick on poor Ben Cardin (the Junior Senator from Maryland) again. He really is a stand-up kind of guy. But this is too much!
With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.That's it? You give newspapers -- some owned by Fortune 500 companies -- the same special status as, say, the United Way............why? Because they can't survive in today's marketplace? That's weak!
"This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat," said Senator Benjamin Cardin.
A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.
Cardin's Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.
Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.
Mr. Cardin, they'd have a much better chance of surviving in today's marketplace if they didn't talk down to their customers and present such a one-sided view of the world. When you deliberately demean and insult 50% of your target audience on a regular basis, you're going to take your lumps. There are WAY too many other options available now for getting your news, and the vast majority of them don't treat people who reject lock-step liberal orthodoxy like they're neanderthals or morons.
This is a case of the BM reaping what they have sown. And it couldn't happen to a more haughty, self-absorbed, dogmatic, and outright ignorant bunch of people.
Senator Cardin, you're a good guy. But you're on the wrong side of this one. And you're the Wiener of the Month for March.
