The worst idea to come out of Washington in at least a week — state run newspapers. Rigggghhhhhtttt….that’s exactly what we need…a media even more beholden to and smitten with Obama and Liberals than they currently are.

(Via Michelle Malkin):

With many U.S. newspapers struggling to survive, a Democratic senator on Tuesday introduced a bill to help them by allowing newspaper companies to restructure as nonprofits with a variety of tax breaks.

“This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat,” said Senator Benjamin Cardin.

A Cardin spokesman said the bill had yet to attract any co-sponsors, but had sparked plenty of interest within the media, which has seen plunging revenues and many journalist layoffs.

Cardin’s Newspaper Revitalization Act would allow newspapers to operate as nonprofits for educational purposes under the U.S. tax code, giving them a similar status to public broadcasting companies.

Under this arrangement, newspapers would still be free to report on all issues, including political campaigns. But they would be prohibited from making political endorsements.

Advertising and subscription revenue would be tax exempt, and contributions to support news coverage or operations could be tax deductible.

There are almost too many reasons to count as to why having the US Government subsidise the media that is supposed to hold politicians accountable  is a dangerous idea.

To make the already non-profitable newspaper industry into a “charity” non-profitable is just a sad joke.

Ed Morrissey describes better than I have time for as to why this is such a dangerous and bad idea:

The only reason — the only reason — that news media is vital to a democracy is its independence from government.  Think about this.  Is The National Enquirer vital to democracy?  Will the Republic fall if Entertainment Weekly suddenly closed its doors?  Not at all, not even if the entire paparazzi industry suddenly collapsed.

The need for a truly independent media is to make sure that the citizenry is fully informed of government activity and policy, and not just relying on the self-serving communications from elected officials.  Without independence, newspapers and other media have as much value as press releases from Congressional offices.

Now, what happens when government suddenly takes a stake in newspapers and other media?  Can they remain independent — or will they cater themselves to those politicians who support those subsidies and target politicians who don’t?  In fact, the very act of asking for those bailouts has destroyed their independence and credibility on political matters, the very core of what makes a free media necessary for a democracy.

He adds, “A news media dependent on government funding and political protection becomes an organ of government, not an independent entity for informing a free people.”

Next thing you know, Obama will assemble a youth corps — bigger and better funded than our current military — to spread his policies and daily marching orders from door-to-door…

I’d rather see ever single last mainstream media newspaper go under and dissapear before I want to see a single one of them propped up and run by our government. We have more than enough citizen journalist already doing the job that the newspaper industry is barely doing now. I say let them fail and let the marketplace of free ideas and modern delivery methods take their place.