Government Subsidies for Publishing Industry?

Print News: Government Subsidies for Publishing Industry?


Publishers around the world are facing the notion that the survival of their industry may depend on government support.

The future of the printed word may depend on government subsidies, according to several stories circulating at the moment. Not only in Canada, where government support for ‘literary arts already totals tens of millions, but in the United States, where attitudes to state intervention are more hostile, the idea of supporting the ailing publishing industry with financial subsidies is gaining traction. This possibility – first raised by writers at the Washington Post in November - has emerged owing to a terrible year for publishing. Publishers have struggled to make the shift to online media profitable, and redundancies have followed.

In an 8 December post by David Kaplan at PaidContent.org, he writes that the quantity of magazine publishers appearing at the USB Media Week Conference will shrink by almost 5%. This is but the latest in a series of bracing reports to challenge not only publishers but the print industry. For example, it was found recently that almost 87,000 in the US print industry this year have been made unemployed.

Yet the deluge of bad news seems to have awoken people to the fact that the publishing industry is worth saving – by whatever means. Tom Clavin at 27east.com has proposed that ‘printing on demand’ may save the printed text from total collapse. His suggestion though reduces print to a niche industry: an aesthetic novelty subordinate to the digital colossus. Yet some writers would prefer that publishing be saved wholesale. In an 8 December article entitled ‘Keep Print Alive,’ Rachel Mendleson of Macleans.ca writes of the possibility of larger subsidies by the Canadian government for the publishing industry. In 2007 $80 million was contributed.

Elsewhere, in a 30 November post by David Westphal at Ojr.org, he notes that subsidising the publishing industry is a longstanding institution of the US Government. This is in spite of widely held right-wing perceptions to the contrary. Beginning with the Postal Act 1792, the cost of mailing magazines and newspapers has been subsidised. Even today ‘Federal and state governments forego about $890 million a year on income and sales tax breaks to the newspaper industry.’ It is only during the last few years – as publishers have come under threat from digital media, no less – that state legislatures have queried this arrangement.

The dire condition of the publishing industry may lead officials of the US Government to change direction once more. In India, the government has sought to bolster newspaper revenues by paying more for their printed advertisements. In France, 18-24 year olds are now offered a free 3 year newspaper subscription to increase readership rates. These are not permanent measures, but means of assistance for an industry that has suffered particularly badly in the global recession.

Moreover, from the perspectives of the elected officials, the packages are not designed to ‘save’ publishing but ensure a plurality of communication methods. Magazines Canada CEO Mark Jamison told Macleans.ca that ‘The government’s role is about ensuring that Canadian voices can be heard through a variety of means.’ Though the publishing industry may welcome government subsidies, in short, this doesn’t enable newspapers to put aside the challenges faced from the digital market.

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