Uncle Sam Unlikely To Back Handouts For Newspapers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, on completing a public review, probably won't recommend either subsidies or taxes to help newspapers

U.S. newspaper companies will probably get little help from the government after the Federal Trade Commission completes its review of the industry, says a person with knowledge of the agency's plans.

The FTC is reviewing more than a dozen ways that the government could assist newspapers. The agency has held public workshops and is due to publish a report this fall. Its recommendations are likely to exclude subsidies or new taxes to support newspaper companies such as New York Times Co. (NYT) and Washington Post Co. (WPO), said the person, who asked not to be named because the proposals aren't yet finalized.

FTC officials won't back financial aid because Congress is unlikely to approve it, the person told Bloomberg Businessweek.com. The government has faced criticism for bailing out carmakers and banks and is now dealing with a potentially expensive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Most everything they suggested is politically untenable," says Jeff Jarvis, director of the interactive program of journalism at City University of New York, referring to proposals presented to the FTC.

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