[StBernard] Newspapers Failing

[Westley Annis]

Perhaps too John it is the product.  I don't know about other papers in this
predicament but the NYT is hardly the paper it was before.  However, I don't
feel that I should have to subsidize something that's apparently not
working.  

I hope this idea goes down the drain.  The NYT will just have to rethink
itself.

JY




	-----------------------------------------------------
	
	Unfortunately, we live in a free enterprise society where the
consumers
	decides what they want.  Print newspapers have to compete with
internet news
	websites.  How absurd - and even communistic - for the FTC to
consider
	taxing people to help subsidize failing newspapers.  If the public
doesn't
	want them, then so be it.
	
	Besides, what if someone does subscribe to the New York Times?  Do
they get
	a credit or waiver on the tax?  What about people who have NEVER
subscribed?
	Why do they then have to pay a tax for something they never
supported in the
	first place and now have others joining them in their non-support?
	
	See how ridiculous the tax proposal is.  Just like any other
retailer,
	newspaper companies need to cut back their employment staff to meet
whatever
	the consumer demand is.  And if that's not enough, then they need to
	completely fold as other newspapers have.
	
	I am reminded of a situation a few years back by a friend of mine
who works
	for AT&T.  As he explained it, the top brass at AT&T could see how
the
	consumer was moving away from land-line telephone use to wireless.
So, at
	AT&T they had to make a decision - start reducing staff and
infrastructure
	to the lower levels of consumer demand OR start investing big bucks
to
	accommodate the growth in wireless demand.  The fact that AT&T is
now the
	second largest carrier of wireless tells you they chose the latter.
This is
	where the newspaper publishing companies failed.  They decided they
would
	either make it the "old way" or go down with the sinking ship - or
consumer
	demand in this case.
	
	Failing newspapers are a victim of their own lack of foresight - or
	stubborness to accept the future.
	
	John