The article on Reason Magazine.
The author first assumed that while print newspapers subscriptions are shrinking, the news broadcast via other mediums, such as the Internet, actually becomes more popular and profitable due to the digital boom in journalism. However, the author provided no statistics whatsoever to back this claim. Perhaps the entire population of news readers nowadays has shrunk considerably, and that the increase in the number of Internet audience would hardly make up for the loss. Without any substantial evidence to refer to, the proponent of the argument is therefore untrustworthy.
Secondly, the author adduced what happened in the 1980s when compact discs started to took over the music industry from the previously-predominant vinyl records. By citing the non-action from the government towards the extinction of vinyl as opposed to the FTC's bid to rescue the newspaper business, the author assumed that the advent of new technology is irreversible in nature and, in this regard, any attempt to work against it is to no avail. True as it might be, this assertion could very well be baseless because it fails to take the differences between the two comparing events into account. Common senses tell me that the digital challenge the music industry faced decades ago varies from the current newspaper crisis. For one thing, it was not the record companies, which chose to sell CDs instead of vinyls, that were being jeopardized. Back then the victimized party were the music fans who were forced to buy more expensive records. As for another, the government did not react to the doom of vinyl simply because, in all likelihood, "music" as an indispensable form of culture faced no apparent danger at all. The author made no discussions on whether this is also the case with the newspaper industry, and is therefore unpersuasive.
Finally, the column notes that journalism should be off-limits and should therefore be cleared of any influence or intervention from the state power. However, the pundit did not explain clearly why the attempt to rescue the news business can be ascribed to impingement of the news business development. It is entirely possible that with the government subsidies, newspapers can fare better under the dreadful economic climate while retaining its professional integrity and independence from any political or economical power. As a result, this notion that government backing equals political intervention is dubious at best.
In conclusion, the author's argument that journalism needs no government rescue equivocate in several critical aspects, and is unconvincing as it stands. To bolster the claim the article would require a series of facts that can prove that the journalism via the Internet is actually thriving, as well as statistics on the current demography of news readers in different media outlets. To further convince me, I'll need to know the relations between government sponsorship and news room sovereignty, the distinctive nature of news publication, and what really challenges the newspaper business in face of digital revolution.
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