ABSTRACT
Voting by electronic lever is taking place, and one legislator obviously wants the vote to go his way. It is no secret that American newspapers increasingly have come under control of corporate chains—many of them publicly held and solicitous of Wall Street analysts who see no newspaper obligations other than the bottom line. Often the corporate view is hostile to governmental coverage. It has been fashionable for some years, during meetings of editors and publishers, to deplore “incremental” news coverage. Substantive news coverage is not only vital to democracy; it is vital to the survival of newspapers. However, production efficiencies have been made on most papers, and there is more competition for advertising dollars. With a few exceptions, the talk at the high levels of newspapers these days is of increasing profits, increasing corporate pressure, increasing responsibility to shareholders. It is time that newspaper corporations become subjects of debate and be held accountable for covering the communities they serve.
