Stop job-killing tax on newspapers
News organizations across the country take their First Amendment responsibilities seriously.
Even though the right of a free press is enshrined in the Constitution, newspapers are still commercial operations that are not immune to economic cycles or shocks.
The Great Recession was devastating and was exacerbated by business model disruptions because of growing online competitors and readers.
Even so, print is still an essential experience for readers across the United States of America.
The Pew Research Center estimated national newspaper circulation at 31 million per weekday and 34 million on Sundays, according to its June fact sheet.
Tariffs will hurt jobs, raise prices
A new threat is looming, however: A new 30 percent tariff on Canadian newsprint is a hidden tax that will raise prices on news companies and consumers and potentially lead to job cuts.
Newsprint is what newspapers are printed on, and it is the No. 2 expense for publishing companies after staff. Around 600,000 jobs are at stake. That is why members of Congress must take this threat seriously, as they do with all the tariffs imposed and proposed by the White House, and push back against them.
The global supply chain has made free trade and international cooperation fundamental to business success, and the uncertainty and instability caused by tariffs are damaging.
There are livelihoods and communities at stake in the very districts Congress members serve.
We are part of your community
Local newspapers, especially, work to connect their readers with their civic institutions, their elected officials and the community as a whole around them.
They sustain a democratic tradition that has made this nation stronger. Information, literacy and access are critical to self-governing citizens.
Sadly, the provocateur of these tariffs is one paper manufacturer in the Northwest, NORPAC. In a recent guest column, University of Maryland business professor Gary Cohen wrote that no other U.S. paper mill supports the tariffs.
That calls into question the wisdom of the White House’s decision to impose this tariff.
While Congress puts pressure on the White House, citizens should put pressure on their elected officials.
We urge you as well to read and invest in your local newspaper, to write letters to the editor and to demand to be heard.
Get to know your community journalists. They are people who shop at the same grocery stores as you, attend religious services with you and enjoy the same festivals as you.
Newspapers are working hard to rebuild trust during a time of political polarization and mixed messages on who can be believed.
We benefit when we can trust and believe our civic institutions, including libraries, universities, local governing boards and news companies. We citizens are simply better off.
Opinion and Engagement Editor David Plazas wrote this editorial on behalf of the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee. Email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.