Media News - Friday, September 25, 2009

US newspaper industry not seeking bailout: NAA

The US newspaper industry is struggling, with seven major companies in bankruptcy and 30,000 jobs lost since 2007, but it will not seek a government bailout, the head of the Newspaper Association of America said Thursday. "The newspaper industry is not seeking a financial 'bailout' or any other kind of special subsidy," NAA president John Sturm told a committee hearing of the US House of Representatives on "The Future of Newspapers," The NAA chief's remarks came a day after a poll released by Sacred Heart University found that nearly 80 percent of Americans opposed using tax dollars to help out failing newspapers. Sturm, whose association represents nearly 2,000 newspapers accounting for more than 90 percent of daily US circulation, said there were several areas in which Congress could help the industry including amending the tax code and loosening pension requirements. A bill which would allow newspapers to become non-profit entities while continuing to generate advertising revenue "could work in certain situations," he said, but is not a "comprehensive solution to the problems in the industry." He did not provide details but a number of US newspapers are currently examining ways to charge readers on the Web for news they currently get for free. Several leading US technology companies recently submitted proposals to the NAA on building payment platforms that would allow newspapers to charge for content online. (AFP)

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