Newspapers need resuscitation, but not from the government.

Here we go again. The Newspaper Revitalization Act is nothing more than another step of government intrusion. The notion that this act is going to save struggling newspapers because people are suddenly going to be so moved to donate to them as a 501 (c)(3) is ludicrous. Where is the supporting evidence that this will work when people are too busy currently cancelling their existing newspaper subscriptions in light of the economic climate? Simply changing a business model from public to private doesn’t mean it will flourish. Surely Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland knows the newspaper industry has not been as fruitful as it once was in the last several years due to the competition of the Internet. The decline in newspaper sales is saddening to me as a lover of the news, but in reality, I don’t want government telling me what to write about, let alone not permitting newspapers to endorse political candidates. Elimination of paying taxes wouldn’t cease under this model either if these so-called non-profit newspapers would continue to have ad revenue. That would still be a cost for them. How and in what way would this act save the newspaper industry? I certainly do not want to see newspapers die, but without a doubt, I don’t want to see newspapers become another extension of the government.