Thursday, January 1, 2009

Should The U.S. Save A Brontosaurus From The Tarpits

Lawmakers in Connecticut actually have big enough stones (and egos) to make the case that a newspapers bailout is critical to the success of our democracy. Huh!?

Let's not even consider for a second the fact that newspaper circulation (that's people who want to pay for a paper) has been in double digit percentage drops for several years now. Everyone in the advertising industry with even a slim shred of integrity would attribute this drop not to the economy but to the rise in digital advertising.

Now, I will agree with a portion of the argument made by those in the paper business - free press is critical to democracy. However, here's a 'news flash' for the papers - it's free to log on to Drudge Report, Fox News, etc. Free press exists.

If you own a laptop and can find a place with free wi-fi which is not hard to do (that's wireless internet for the less tech-savvy readers). Then you have your choice of news sites to log onto depending on your political leanings. Thus rendering the days of having to pay twenty-five cents to a dollar or more to get the news...history. Of course, one could still make the argument that the Sunday paper is great for getting coupons for grocery shopping. But I've heard about enough websites that guide you to where you can click and print coupons, so the position of newspapers being largely irrelevant at this point stands.

Joe Sixpack American says bailing out a newspaper is not good for America!

Contact your State Reps and Senators in Connecticut and let them know you don't agree with this foolish idea of bailing out a newspaper.

State Reps
John B. Larson - 1st District
Joe Courtney - 2nd District
Rosa L. DeLauro - 3rd District
Christopher Shays - 4th District
Christopher S. Murphy - 5th District

Senators
Christopher J. Dodd - 202-224-2823
Joe Lieberman - 202-224-4041

Besides doing that - don't be afraid to tell people how ridiculously stupid an idea it is for the government to bail out a newspaper.

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