11 Comments
Aug 29Liked by Richard J. Tofel

Very well said dick. And beat wishes peter

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Aug 29Liked by Richard J. Tofel

Always terrific. And thanks for doing the math.

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Google's original corporate pledge was in the negative, don't be evil. But in the evolution of that corporate motto, it has never really ascended to the affirmative. Google is a business and if there is a weakly protected asset like content, they will use it. We have not figured out a proper way to manage the impact of tech on us individually or collectively. There are elements emerging like Lina Khan and her antitrust work but in this one off fight, journalism didn't have much of a chance. Thank you Dick for your always insightful writing.

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Aug 29Liked by Richard J. Tofel

Definitely not worth it IMHO. Including its lifeline for hedge fund destroying the business

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Sep 5Liked by Richard J. Tofel

Thank you for this! Where did you learn the detail that none of the money would go to outlets with a budget of $100K or less?

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author

It’s from Rebuild Local News, in the statement linked from the third graf of the piece.

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That said, this is really not that different from the "Community News and Small Business Support Act" or its stepparent, the Journalism Protection and Competition Act https://beloblogging.blogspot.com/2023/08/community-news-and-small-business.html

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Good lord on LION. Is their CEO hoping that by sucking up at a dry teat he can make it produce?

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Given how much you emphasize reader trust, the missing kicker seems to be: “It’s not worth it.” Do you feel that way? Or do you think if the industry could drive a harder legislative bargain, the ass-kissing that comes with being a political actor might be worth the trade-off in trust?

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author

Thanks for reading. It's hard for me to imagine what would ever be worth a trade off in trust, and legislative relations won't make the list. We should tell the truth about legislative outcomes, or at the least stand silent if we can't.

I do think that, if funders and others are going to seek to have the industry contend in this arena, we need to supply our fighters with metaphorical guns.

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Sep 3Liked by Richard J. Tofel

Thanks for writing and explaining. I'm curious to know what the metaphorical guns might be in application. Possibly a subject for another essay.

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