The Media Bailout Already Happened

With industry after industry lining up for a bailout from the federal government, it should not be surprising that newspaper reports are coming out about a possible bailout for newspapers themselves.

It could be argued that the newspaper industry is the most troubled in America — and there is no doubt the industry was caught flatfooted by the technology revolution of the past 10 years. Individual newspapers and magazines are in a freefall, with some threatening to shut down if they fail to find a buyer, while others simultaneously raise prices and reduce content. News bureaus either shrink or close down, while “stringers,” journalists in Washington who represent papers throughout the country, are seemingly laid off every week. The New York Times, no stranger to the situation, recently informed staffers of a massive restructuring of allowed expenses in a move to further reduce costs.

President-elect Obama has signaled he believes some aid for the media may be necessary, though he did not get into specifics. Certainly, no one has made more money for the news industry lately than Barack Obama — whether online or in print, any Obama-related news is more likely to be read and/or purchased. Newspapers throughout the country have added either special Inaugural sections or entire editions. Obama — as demonstrated by The Washington Post selling special classified ads for readers to welcome the Obama family to Washington — represents a (much-needed) cash infusion to newspapers and magazines. There’s a reason Time magazine has featured Obama on its cover more than a dozen times in the past year. It’s called capitalism.

And the phenomenon is not uniquely American — foreign magazines trumpet Obama on seemingly every cover, while for Washington bureaus of foreign newspapers such as Le Monde and El País, Obama’s victory meant an increased appetite for news from Washington — i.e., jobs. For much of the media, at least on the publishing side, Obama = $$$.

Complicating the matter is the question of how objectively newspapers can cover a president who may seek to prop up their very industry. But given how over the past week, much of the news reports of the Obama Inauguration have gone from coverage to celebration, maybe we have gotten past that question already.