Just as I thought it was a dumb idea to “bail out” American automakers who were doing a fine job destroying themselves, it is also a dumb idea to “bail out” newspapers who have been losing readership over the years. Black newspapers are no exception.

Too bad NNPA (National Newspaper Publishers Association) Chairman Danny Bakewell still believes that an old and leaky business model that has been losing readership for years is still a viable investment for the American tax dollar.

‘Where’s the Money?’: NNPA Chairman Bakewell Takes Capitol Hill by Storm

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – It was a closed-door face to face conversation between U. S. senators and the top leadership of the nation’s premier Black institutions and new NNPA Chairman Danny Bakewell was on the front line for all of them.

“We’ve had landmark legislation in terms of the stimulus bill. Yet, when you talk to Black businesses, when you talk to newspaper publishers, where is the money? Where is the money,” Bakewell demanded rhetorically as the audience inside the Mansfield Room of the U. S. Capitol broke into applause.

He continued, “General Motors got almost a hundred billion plus dollars of stimulus money. They have a billion plus dollars advertising budget. The Black Press probably cannot find $2 million dollars in advertising throughout the entire country of the United States…Where is the acknowledgement of our community? Where is the acknowledgement of Black businesses?” (more…)

A couple of things:

#As I have been pointing out over, and over, and over again on this site, the print media industry in general has been losing readership left and right due largely to the Internet. While many big name print media outlets have made the move to the online universe, the NNPA has been content with substandard websites that in many cases are only updated a couple of times a week (if that).

#I recently did an Alexa search on a handful of Black newspapers just to see their rankings. Unfortunately, I know at least a dozen blogs who are operated by one to two people who are with much higher rankings. That is the reality of the web and a reality the NNPA refuses to fully embrace.

The NNPA can continue to use ancient history as a reason for taxpayers to bail them out all they want. But if they cannot prove themselves on the information superhighway, they are nothing more than shovel-ready roadkill.