The latest coronavirus relief package proposed by House Democrats would allow more newspapers to apply for Small Business Administration loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, the News Media Alliance reports. One section would let chain-owned papers apply as individual, independent entities, falling under the 500-employees for the forgivable loans, which are, in effect, grants.
More than two-thirds of U.S. newspapers are chain-owned; among community newspapers, the latest available figure is 62 percent. "The Wall Street Journal calculated recently that titles accounting for around 80% of national newspaper circulation were ineligible under the program’s terms, because they’re 'affiliated' with bigger companies," Columbia Journalism Review's Jon Allsop reports.
The alliance urged members to "share your own personal stories outlining what your newspaper has been doing to serve your community during the covid-19 crisis: explain how the crisis has negatively impacted the newspaper’s financial position; threatens the livelihood of your employees; and jeopardizes your ability to continue to provide news and information in your community."
Some in journalism see a problem not just with lobbying for the money, but taking it. "The media-specific ethical issue concerns the old dilemma of whether independent news outlets, whose job it is to hold government accountable, can take money from the government without triggering a conflict of interest," Allsop writes. "This debate feels misguided, too. The question of which outlets a government chooses to support can undoubtedly raise problems; in Canada, for example, critics recently accused a publicly-funded reporting initiative of discriminating against newer outlets. . . . As several newsrooms pointed out to justify applying for the money, PPP is not a bailout for the media, specifically."
Meanwhile, several major news organizations are suing the SBA after it refused to fulfill Freedom of Information Act requests for the names of businesses getting money from the program, and how much. The plaintiffs include The Washington Post, The New York Times, Bloomberg, ProPublica and Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
"The program has been plagued with problems, and five weeks after it was launched, the SBA has yet to divulge the names of any recipients," ProPublica reports. The names of a few — Shake Shack, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and the Los Angeles Lakers among them — have come out through other means. Those three returned the loans after an outcry. The SBA hasn’t argued that the names of the companies that get these loans should stay secret. It has instead pointed to generalized statistics on its website or put off responding to the FOIA requests until sometime in the future."
More than two-thirds of U.S. newspapers are chain-owned; among community newspapers, the latest available figure is 62 percent. "The Wall Street Journal calculated recently that titles accounting for around 80% of national newspaper circulation were ineligible under the program’s terms, because they’re 'affiliated' with bigger companies," Columbia Journalism Review's Jon Allsop reports.
The alliance urged members to "share your own personal stories outlining what your newspaper has been doing to serve your community during the covid-19 crisis: explain how the crisis has negatively impacted the newspaper’s financial position; threatens the livelihood of your employees; and jeopardizes your ability to continue to provide news and information in your community."
Some in journalism see a problem not just with lobbying for the money, but taking it. "The media-specific ethical issue concerns the old dilemma of whether independent news outlets, whose job it is to hold government accountable, can take money from the government without triggering a conflict of interest," Allsop writes. "This debate feels misguided, too. The question of which outlets a government chooses to support can undoubtedly raise problems; in Canada, for example, critics recently accused a publicly-funded reporting initiative of discriminating against newer outlets. . . . As several newsrooms pointed out to justify applying for the money, PPP is not a bailout for the media, specifically."
Meanwhile, several major news organizations are suing the SBA after it refused to fulfill Freedom of Information Act requests for the names of businesses getting money from the program, and how much. The plaintiffs include The Washington Post, The New York Times, Bloomberg, ProPublica and Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
"The program has been plagued with problems, and five weeks after it was launched, the SBA has yet to divulge the names of any recipients," ProPublica reports. The names of a few — Shake Shack, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and the Los Angeles Lakers among them — have come out through other means. Those three returned the loans after an outcry. The SBA hasn’t argued that the names of the companies that get these loans should stay secret. It has instead pointed to generalized statistics on its website or put off responding to the FOIA requests until sometime in the future."
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