Senator Benjamin Cardin on the Crisis in Journalism

Washington, DC – Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) delivered the keynote address this morning at a New America Foundation/Washington Monthly event on the future of journalism and his sponsoring of the Newspaper Revitalization Act. Senator Cardin stressed that he in no way supports a "government bailout" of newspapers, and that his bill—which permits papers to convert themselves to tax-exempt, 501c3 organizations—would not significantly affect federal tax revenues. "Newspapers only pay taxes if they're making a profit," he noted.

Recognizing the decline of the "fourth estate" as detrimental to American politics and the public interest, the New America Foundation teamed with The Washington Monthly to convene a panel of journalism professionals to address the need for new media business models and the role philanthropy could play in the media's transformation.

For more information on today's event, which continues throughout the morning and is being webcast live:
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2009/who_pays_news

Click here for the full text of S.673 "The Newspaper Revitalization Act"

About the New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute that invests in new thinkers and new ideas to address the next generation of challenges facing the United States. 

Learn More About: Douglas McGray, Mark Paul, Paul Glastris, Steve Coll
Related Programs: The Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program
Topics: Media