The next Government Bailout - Journalism

This is veering off the rails into the land of the absurd. From FOX News:

Journalism 'Reinvention' Smacks of Government Control, Critics Say
A list of potential policy recommendations to reinvent the field of journalism that has been compiled by the Federal Trade Commission is a "dangerous" overreach of power and a waste of taxpayer funds, critics of the project told FoxNews.com.

FTC officials began a project in May 2009 to consider the challenges the journalism industry faces in the digital age. The federal agency recently released a discussion draft titled "Potential Policy Recommendations to Support the Reinvention of Journalism," a 47-page document that outlines a major government push to rescue the country's flailing media platforms -- specifically newspapers, which have seen advertising revenues drop roughly 45 percent since 2000.

Among the numerous proposals mentioned in the document are:

-- the creation of a "journalism" division of AmeriCorps, the federal program that places 75,000 people with local and national nonprofit groups annually;

-- tax credits to news organizations for every journalist employed;

-- establishing citizenship news vouchers, which "would allow every American tax payer to allocate some amount of government funds to the non-profit media organization" of their choice;

-- increased funding for public radio and television;

-- providing grants to universities to conduct investigative journalism;

-- increased postal subsidies for newspapers and periodicals;

-- a 5 percent tax on consumer electronics, which would generate roughly $4 billion annually, to pay for increased public funding.

But some critics are voicing concerns about the draft document, saying that if the government has any influence over the Fourth Estate, it could lead to a dizzying web of conflicting interests and the eradication of independent journalism.

People are not buying newspapers because they do not report the news -- they simply do not offer any value and have fallen out of touch with the average citizen. Why we need to implement a tax and why we need to increase the size of our government to "rescue" these dinosaurs is a drop-dead perfect teachable moment on this very issue. The mainstream media is perceived as just a government mouthpiece -- they do not ask hardball questions anymore. A person is known by the company they keep...