Quote:
Originally Posted by dreams
Washington would give every American taxpayer an amount of money that could only be spent on newspapers and magazines delivered electronically. The amount might be keyed to the amount of taxes paid, but it needs to be in a form that is immediately spendable, such as an online voucher.
You could also use the money for a Kindle or a next-generation newspaper reader such as the one Hearst is proposing. Maybe even for a laptop, though that is probably a stretch."
|
I think a better method would be having Washington subsidize the e-news readers given out (or sold at very low prices, or as part of a subscription) by the newspapers. This prevents giving money to taxpayers who simply won't use it (because they don't read newspapers) or don't need it (because they already have a reader).
There is, of course, another way: Let the newspapers pay for the readers themselves, in much the same way as cellphone companies do it: Sell you a basic reader at a low cost, the cost being folded into the subscription (contract). If you want a fancier reader, you can always buy it yourself, or if you get it through the newspaper, they will renew your contract for it and fold the cost in again.
Will newspapers want to do this? Not really. But it wouldn't be impossible for them, and the government might even be able to give them some... encouragement. (Like charging the newspapers more for the paper they use, the transportation costs, etc, and making it "worth their while" to go digital.)