Boycott The New York Times editor Don Feder said today that the idea of a government bailout for struggling newspapers, which has been floated recently by some legislators and journalists, is "atrocious" and akin to "forcing taxpayers to subsidize [media] bias."
Former Miami Herald Editor Tom Fiedler, now the dean of the Boston University School of Communications, was quoted in a Reuters story urging "it is in democracy's interest to support the press," financially.
Feder countered: "Washington can't provide a bailout to every newspaper that's on the verge of going under. So which newspapers get bailed out and which are allowed to close? Clearly media outlets favored by the political elite will get the subsidies -- The New York Times and not The Washington Times, The Washington Post and not The New York Post."
To the argument of Fiedler and others that newspaper bailouts would promote democracy, Feder responds that "newspaper bailouts would short-circuit the democratic process" because "every time you buy (or subscribe to) a newspaper, you're voting with your dollars for those you trust to report the news accurately and objectively."
Feder added that, among other factors, some newspapers are struggling because they are "alienating former subscribers with bias so blatant that it leaps off the pages."
Feder's commentary is available
here.
About Boycott The New York Times:
A project of Accuracy In Media (AIM), Boycott The New York Times is the first website to call for a general boycott of America's most biased news outlet. For more information, go to
www.boycottnyt.com and
www.aim.org.
About Don Feder:
Don Feder is the editor of Boycott The New York Times. A former Boston Herald editorial writer and syndicated political columnist, Feder has appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor," "Hannity and Colmes," "Politically Incorrect," "The 700 Club," "Focus On The Family," "Fox & Friends" and "The Savage Nation." His columns have been read on the air by Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura.
