Full Description
Ever since newspaper companies first turned to their governments for support in the 1950s, print media has been supported by state aid in many parts of the world. Today, the principles and practicalities of these subsidies have been called into question, endangering the secure funding of expensive high-quality press output.
This book provides a comprehensive analysis of today's global challenges in the print news media's struggle for survival. It presents current practices concerning government subsidies to newspapers for political, economic, and socio-cultural purposes against the background of declining readership and revenues, increased inter-media competition, austerity budgets imposed on national economies and shifting audience tastes. Using the insights of theoretical debates in the fields of media economics, media governance, and modern management theory, the book analyses these issues by investigating the power of government subsidies to shape and control newspaper markets. It brings together experts in these fields to combine theory with industry practices, aiming to help all parties involved to understand the complexity of issues and requirements necessary to preserve the social benefits of print media.
Contents
Preface.- Part I: Introduction.- 1 Context, Purpose and Structure of the Book.- 2 State Aid for Newspapers.- Part II: Theories.- 3 State Support for News.- 4 Industrial Subsidies.- 5 Newspaper Subsidies and Journalistic Quality.- 6 State Aid to the Press in the EU.- 7 Press Governance.- Part III: Cases and Actions.- 8 Australia: State Aid to Newspapers.- 9 Austria: Press Subsidies in Search of a New Design.- 10 Belgium: Big Changes in a Small News Economy.- 11 Bulgaria: Press Subsidies in the Shadows.- 12 Finland: The Rise and Fall of a Democratic Subsidy Scheme.- 13 France: Press Subsidies.- 14 Germany: Evaluating Alternatives to Finance Quality Journalism.- 15 Greece: Press Subsidies in Turmoil.- 16 Hungary: The State as Strong Media Governor.- 17 The Netherlands: Initiatives to Subsidize Press Innovation.- 18 Russia: Subsidies Between Industry Support and State Control.- 19 Sweden: State Support to Newspapers in Transition.- 20 Switzerland: The Role of Swiss Post in Indirect Press Support.- 21 United Kingdom: Subsidies and Democratic Deficits in Local News.- 22 United States: American Exceptionalism.- Part IV: Conclusion.- 23 State Aid for Newspapers: A Summary Assessment.
