I Hope the local papers don’t get any more biased in favor of Governor Gregoire now that she has approved the Changing of their tax code.
Gov. Chris Gregoire has approved a tax break for the state’s troubled newspaper industry.
The new law gives newspaper printers and publishers a 40 percent cut in the state’s main business tax. The discounted rate mirrors breaks given in years past to the Boeing Co. and the timber industry.
Except that no one relies on Boeing or Weyehaeuser for their news.
Well, apparently, no one relies on the local papers anymore either.
The Portland Oregonian jacked up my subscription rate from $4.00/wk to $6.00, so I dropped the subscription a little over a week ago. Two days ago they called me and asked if I would renew, and they had a good “deal”. The deal would have given me the paper for $3.25/week, a reduction of 19% from my old rate, but there was a catch: I had to sign up for a year in advance, and I had to put the monthlies on a credit card, something I rarely do.
I asked the sales person if she was so willing to give me such a low rate, why did she jack up my $4.00/wk rate to $6.00 recently, then I told her I would re-sign, monthly, bill me and I’ll pay with a check, for $4.00/wk. She refused my offer.
The Oregonian is hurting, and is at the end of it’s string, unable to get any more money from the bank, and with revenues insufficient to keep the paper going. They will go away soon, since the reporter’s and pressman’s unions are unwilling to give back on wages and perks. The Vancouver Columbian is already on life support.
Hard to believe, but the mainly-shopping rags in Salem and Eugene and Pendleton might wind up being the only dailies in this benighted state soon.