Federally Subsidized Journalism Goes Local
Consider this the first shot in the foolhardy revolutionary war to put journalism in the hands of government:
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, looking to counter what it sees as a decline in local journalism and original reporting nationwide, said it is making funding available to set up seven regional reporting projects that will be collaborative efforts between public radio and TV stations.
The Local Journalism Centers, as they are being called, will each hire teams of reporters and editors, as well as community outreach managers, to report on an issue of regional relevance, including the reinvention of the industrial upper Midwest economy, efforts in upstate New York to attract innovative businesses, and agribusiness in the Plains.
Media reformers are sure to point to this experiment as an example of what federal subsidies, via CPB and perhaps new entities like it, could do for the professional news business. But all subsidies will do is feed what John Stossel of Fox News aptly called “journalism parasites.”
“Journalists shouldn’t get government funds,” Stossel said. “Using NPR and PBS as a defense reminds me of the child who killed his parents then pleaded for mercy because he was an orphan.”
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