Newspapers want U.S. help, not bailout

By Robert MacMillan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Many U.S. companies consider lobbying the government just another cost of doing business. When newspapers want help from Uncle Sam, the cost could be their reputation.

Newspapers across the country are bleeding revenue and enduring the worst economic climate they have ever faced, similar to automotive and financial giants such as General Motors Corp and Bank of America Corp.

Some are seeking help from a source they once considered unthinkable: the government. But unlike other companies, newspapers cannot ask for public money without compromising their journalistic goals, media experts and executives say.

"That is so clearly contrary to what our role is as a watchdog that it's just not acceptable," said Tom Fiedler, dean of Boston University's College of Communication and former editor of The Miami Herald.

Instead, publishers are looking for changes to antitrust law, tax breaks and, for some, the leeway to convert their business into nonprofit companies.

The call for action among newspapers has grown since late last year, and increasingly, the Obama administration and Capitol Hill are signaling that they are receptive.

The stakes could not be higher. Many papers are losing unprecedented amounts of advertising revenue. At the same time, publishers such as The New York Times Co and McClatchy Co must pay off billions in debt.

Others, such as Tribune Co and Journal Register Co, are in bankruptcy protection. Some papers have closed, and experts say more are on the way.

At risk, beyond the lost jobs and shareholder money, is the journalism that people deem essential for telling them what they need to know about their communities, their investments and the world.

ALL TOGETHER NOW

All the while, newspapers are trying to reinvent themselves for an age when people read most of their news online for free. They have not yet found a way to make it pay, and to figure that out, they say, they have to sit down as an industry.

To do that, they also say, requires the Justice Department to change its antitrust policies so publishers cannot be accused of colluding to find the answers that they need.

"I've never seen an industry where people are so afraid to share ideas," said Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian Tierney, at a House subcommittee hearing in April. "Antitrust concerns inhibit even the most rudimentary discussions."

Some publishers want the Justice Department to reinterpret the law in a way that would encourage newspaper mergers or joint ventures.

"All of this really translates to supporting local journalism," said John Sturm, president of the Newspaper Association of America, in an interview.