Following-up on Brian’s post regarding the Senate’s caving to the newspaper lobby and protecting the mandate to run public notices in print publications…
Today on the RTD’s editorial page, the paper lauds this development as a victory for “good government” (and its lobbying team):
Publishing procurement notices in local newspapers ensures they will be seen by many people, not just a select few. It sustains a key feature of open government: keeping the public informed about the public’s business. Kudos to those lawmakers who recognized the importance of that core democratic value — and to the Virginia Press Association’s Ginger Stanley, who did a masterful job marshaling cogent arguments. Finally, a special tip of the hat to Stuart for putting good government above party politics. Such public-spiritedness stands in the finest tradition of Virginia governance.
What twaddle. Let’s call this mandate what it really is: a subsidy. Newspapers like the RTD desperately need the cash the state requires localities to spend on print notices, and wrapping such subsidy payments in the mantle of good government is mendacious at best.
The RTD’s parent company, Media General, is looking to unload its print papers and go fully digital. The reason is simple: the cost of printing a newspaper is rising fast and ad revenue is tanking. Add that to the debt Media General carries on its books and we can see why the board is willing to entertain offers.
But until then, please: keep the state subsidies coming.
Another look at how dire the overall revenue picture looks for print comes in this Atlantic piece. Industry ad revenue has fallen more than 50 percent in just the last five years. And the decline shows no sign of easing. What does this mean for newspapers in general?
The U.S. newspaper industry was built to support $50 billion to $60 billion in total advertising with the kind of staffs that a $50 billion industry can abide. The layoffs, buyouts, and bankruptcies you hear about are the result of this massive correction in the face of falling revenue. The Internet took out print’s knees in the last decade — not all print*, but a lot.
Media General has instituted layoffs, mandatory furloughs and other cost cutting measures in the last few years in order to keep the lights on. With the threat that the General Assembly might cut the subsidy gone (for now), it’s little wonder the paper is tossing bouquets to those legislators who voted to keep those subsidy checks flowing.
That’s not what a win for “good government” looks like. It’s just another instance of private industry picking taxpayers’ pockets — which seems to be the real tradition of Virginia governance.
