Save the Free Press Initiative seeks
solutions for local journalism
Seattle Times,
by
Frank Blethen
Original Article
Posted By: Maggie2u,
5/4/2020 3:47:47 PM
The COVID-19 pandemic has simultaneously proved the life-and-death importance of local journalism in our democracy and accelerated the destruction of the free press at a scale that only Congress can reverse.
During the novel coronavirus outbreak, readership of The Seattle Times and newspapers nationwide is at an all-time high, but with plummeting advertising revenue. So many papers have laid off staff that journalism enterprises are in danger of not being able to provide the necessary local coverage vital to community connection just when it is most needed: in the midst of a national health and economic crisis.
While the newspaper industry has been struggling with a changing business model precipitated
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Vesicant 5/4/2020 4:02:21 PM (No. 400705)
First of all, when the 1st Amendment says "press," it means the literal printing press, not the bloated monstrosity of modern "journalism." The Founding Fathers would understand internet blogging far more than they would the Seattle Times. Second, there's no way Congress could pass a law to do what the Seattle Times wants without it being unconstitutional, because there would be restrictions on how the money was spent, and that would be abridgement.
6 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
kewmac 5/4/2020 4:09:27 PM (No. 400714)
What do New Jersey and the Seattle Times have in common? After decades of mismanagement they both want taxpayer bail outs.
13 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
PlayItAgain 5/4/2020 4:30:19 PM (No. 400730)
They participated in the panic.
They promoted the panic.
They are now suffering the consequences of the panic.
Valuable services will survive.
17 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
EQKimball 5/4/2020 4:46:58 PM (No. 400751)
Meanwhile television networks are losing billions in ad revenue because social distancing rules have killed professional sports, entertainment, hospitality, group travel (including airlines, land excursions and cruise ships), amusement parks and auto sales (now with thousands of acres of last year's models piled up at dealerships and ship cargo terminals). No sponsors, no television. I have to wonder if this had happened a year or more ago--with no impending presidential election to influence-- if blue state governors would have killed their own state economies in order to have us hide from the virus. Pandemics have been a feature of civilization for thousands of years. No society until now has ever committed economic suicide to avoid them. No politicians have ever been so irresponsible.
4 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
bad-hair 5/4/2020 4:49:29 PM (No. 400754)
Seattle Times? Free Press? You got your Free Press. What are you doing with it. You should rename your cute little movement the "Save The Trash Trump Initiative" because that's all you do.
1 person likes this.
Dear “mainstream” media. Drop dead.
9 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
planetgeo 5/4/2020 4:52:30 PM (No. 400758)
Die, enemedia, die...
5 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
ho72 5/4/2020 4:53:01 PM (No. 400759)
Our paper was taken over by Gannet some years ago and the results were predictable. I dropped my subscription when the gay/trans über alles slant became too much to bear. Now I read the Epoch Times and to hell with the rest.
3 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
MattMusson 5/4/2020 4:57:55 PM (No. 400763)
Save the Buggy Makers.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
winmag 5/4/2020 5:10:22 PM (No. 400773)
Some dark clouds do have a silver lining.
5 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Philipsonh 5/4/2020 5:11:30 PM (No. 400776)
We have two primary newspaper in our locale. Both are thinnner than ever, are heavily biased toward Democrats, and attack Trump daily. I have not purchased one of these papers for at least a decade and the reason they get sold is mainly for the Saturday/ Sunday advertisements/coupons. (I peruse them if they are laying on a convenience store bench and find they never change ). They are disgusting, because any good news for the Administration is either omitted or buried.
2 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
TJ54 5/4/2020 5:15:36 PM (No. 400778)
American People to the Press: Drop Dead
3 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
bad-hair 5/4/2020 5:26:27 PM (No. 400784)
The optimist in me is coming out. I'm fortunate I don't own a bird. Then I would need a bird cage. Then I would need the Seattle Times to put on the bottom of the cage (Frank's article up). Then I might come across Frank's article all covered in what it deserves.
The Seattle times should hope their dreck gets used to wrap fish.
4 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 5/4/2020 5:56:32 PM (No. 400812)
My local, small town daily just announced they have to cut the print edition from seven days a week to four. They are generally fair to both sides except they use Associated Press for national news. That “news” is more biased now than CNN. Every story is blatantly anti-Trump. We need this little paper. They do a good job with the local news but they need to drop AP.
1 person likes this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
MainelySane 5/4/2020 6:08:53 PM (No. 400817)
It is, for the most part, Democrat Party Press/Propaganda. Democrats ruin everything. Their openly pro-Democrat approach, far example, has made the circulation of the Bangor Daily News in Maine 1/3 of what it was 20 years ago. The only reliable information in the "BDN" is in the obituaries.
0 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Jethro bo 5/4/2020 6:32:19 PM (No. 400836)
The press is free. We know that cause the Seattle Times prints whatever fake news it desires. That doen't mean goobernment should support the press. Then the press isn't free but a paid for mouthpiece of the goobernment. Now with the demands for handouts, why would pur liberal, fascist goobernment spend money on press? Our goobernment couldn't pay for better proess than what the Seattle Times gives it for free now. Maybe a change in the business model, like, oh, honest reporting might save the 'press'.
0 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
DVC 5/4/2020 6:49:17 PM (No. 400843)
If they weren't leftist propaganda pukes, they could get more subscribers.
Sorry, this is ALL about their worthless, lying reporting.
2 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
stablemoney 5/4/2020 9:11:20 PM (No. 400977)
The news media is non-essential, even more so now that many are without jobs.
0 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Trigger2 5/5/2020 3:09:46 AM (No. 401150)
Save the Press?? Why? They wouldn't need saving if they actually told the truth about things. To hell with them.
0 people like this.
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Yeah, here's the owner of the Seattle Times telling us why this multi-millionaire owner and other corrupt newspapers need money from working American families to stay in business