Will journalists wake up in time to save journalism from Obama's FTC?

[Ockham]

Release of the Federal Trade Commission's working paper on "reinventing journalism" makes it clear that there is no more time for diplomacy about this issue: President Obama is determined to federalize the news industry just as he has banking, autos, and health care.

Everybody who wants independent journalism had better wake up to these three facts about what is going:

• 
  LISTJournalists must understand that there is no way the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press will survive if the federal government regulates the news industry as envisioned by the FTC. Those who accept at face value protests to the contrary or the professions of pure intentions by advocates of government takeover of the news business are, at best, incredibly naive.

• Journalists who remain silent or apathetic about what is being prepared by the FTC for their profession become unintentional accessories in the strangulation of independent journalism.

• Journalists who support or assist, for any reason, the FTC process are accomplices in the strangulation of independent journalism.

I read through the FTC draft proposal and they talk about subsidizing journalists, they talk about taxes and vouchers and on it's face it looks as if the Fed is trying to "HELP" the newspapers and general media who are hurting due to on-line reading taking over, and paper going by the wayside. Thus, restricting the intellectual property from search engines, identifying time limits and then funding journalism using NPR and PBS as examples of how government is NOT in any way taking over journalism in this country is scary. At the most basic level, by subsidizing journalism and providing that money - doesn't that provide influence to the "free and independent" press such that they are no longer free or independent? When I, as the Fed can say - "We don't like what you've been publishing so I (the Fed) will make use a loophole to no longer fund you", that doesn't sound good for the citizens. Is this about control of information (OITP) or is this about influence and something more sinister?

"What disturbs me most in this section is that the FTC frets about 'difficult line-drawing being proprietary facts and those in the public domain.' Proprietary facts? Is it starting down a road of trying to enable someone to own a fact the way the patent office lets someone own a method or our DNA? Good God, that’s dangerous."

I couldn't say it better myself. I want no part of the Government for any reason, to influence, fund, subsidize or otherwise involve itself in our free press. Even if, there's a major newspaper disaster covering 14 states causing untold destruction --- just let it be.

Mark Tapscott: Will journalists wake up in time to save journalism from Obama's FTC? | Washington Examiner

http://www.ftc.gov/opp/workshops/news/jun15/docs/new-staff-discussion.pdf

 

[Slartibartfast]

I read through the FTC draft proposal and they talk about subsidizing journalists, they talk about taxes and vouchers and on it's face it looks as if the Fed is trying to "HELP" the newspapers and general media who are hurting due to on-line reading taking over, and paper going by the wayside. Thus, restricting the intellectual property from search engines, identifying time limits and then funding journalism using NPR and PBS as examples of how government is NOT in any way taking over journalism in this country is scary. At the most basic level, by subsidizing journalism and providing that money - doesn't that provide influence to the "free and independent" press such that they are no longer free or independent? When I, as the Fed can say - "We don't like what you've been publishing so I (the Fed) will make use a loophole to no longer fund you", that doesn't sound good for the citizens. Is this about control of information (OITP) or is this about influence and something more sinister?



I couldn't say it better myself. I want no part of the Government for any reason, to influence, fund, subsidize or otherwise involve itself in our free press. Even if, there's a major newspaper disaster covering 14 states causing untold destruction --- just let it be.

Mark Tapscott: Will journalists wake up in time to save journalism from Obama's FTC? | Washington Examiner

http://www.ftc.gov/opp/workshops/news/jun15/docs/new-staff-discussion.pdf

I find myself agreeing. Both newspapers and televised news are losing total marketshare. Now that we have the internet, I do not see an issue with this. I say, let it die.