WASHINGTON-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today called a federal bailout of Chicago’s two daily newspapers, the “Sun-Times” and “Tribune.” It is understood her plea has the support of the White House, particularly incoming Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. President-elect Obama reportedly will comment on the grave situation facing the two newspapers at his next briefing.
“Both daily newspapers constitute an invaluable resource to public understanding of key issues,” said the Speaker. “It would be inconceivable that Chicago would lose its newspapers because of the harsh decisions of the marketplace. `Tribune’ which also owns the ‘Los Angeles Times’ and the ‘Baltimore Sun’ has suffered weak print advertising of $121.6 million for the quarter ending Sept. 28, compared with a profit of $152.8 million a year earlier; revenue falling 11% to $1.04 billion from $1.16 billion, operating profit declining to $37 million from $217 million. This concerns us greatly in Washington.
“Concurrently the `Sun-Times’ also suffered a $160 million loss in the last quarter. Accordingly, there comes a time—as with the Big 3 automakers of Detroit—when the public interest transcends private, ill-considered marketplace decisions. The case of the newspapers in Chicago would warrant intervention by the federal government. Just as we cannot allow Detroit’s Big 3 to die, we in Washington will not stand idly by and allow Chicago’s Big 2 newspapers to shrivel up and die.
“`Tribune’-particularly as owner of the ‘Los Angeles Times’-has been a yardstick for fair and impartial journalism. Its acquisition of a few years, the ‘Times,’ stood guard against flagrant destruction of public confidence in the presidential election system by resisting demands to release a video in contravention of its earlier journalistic pledge to keep the contents secret-and moreover refused to sanction a text to be distributed which was suggested, a sleazy way to evade journalistic ethics. This allowed the public to make judgment on the presidential election untrammeled by hate-filled insinuations. This record of genuine public service and beneficent editorial page support of the `Tribune’ have compensated for the unenlightened John Kass whose columns, for some reason, the paper keeps running. But it is expected that infusion of federal funds will necessitate in staff cutbacks in the future-although that will be a matter for Mr. Sam Zell to decide.”
The Speaker added: “The ‘Sun-Times’ has long distinguished itself in public service, particularly due to the guidance of Michael Cooke, its editor who has seen to it that both sides of controversial questions are presented in exemplary fashion.”
When asked for examples of the “Sun-Times’” objectivity on political issues, she responded: “The paper has run stories about President-elect Obama fulsomely and completely. That’s one side. Then it has turned around and satisfied its obligation to cover Republican objections by assigning that party’s opinion statements to a prime journalist Mary Mitchell whose astuteness is beyond question. She has given full coverage to their evil motivations and hate-filled views-which is the other side.”
Under tentative plans for the newspaper bailout, a Board of Accommodation will be set up by the federal government to adjudicate matters involving both newspapers on news coverage and editorial positioning. Chair of the Board will be, reportedly, David Axelrod.
**
Tom Roeser is the Chairman of the Chicago Daily Observer Editorial Board.