Tariffs on Canadian paper squeezing news industry

[left-of-center2012]

Publishers at newspapers nationwide, already buffeted by the transition to digital media, say reducing page counts is one adjustment they have made since tariffs on Canadian newsprint — the paper newspapers are printed on — increased cost by 32 percent this year.

In an industry where newsprint is typically the second-highest cost after payroll, publishers are scrambling to balance their books and meet their watchdog mission that many see as the cornerstone of democracy.

A recent survey by the Pennsylvania News Media Association, which represents 76 daily newspapers and 140 weeklies and non-dailies across the state, found 84 percent have cut pages, 44 percent have not filled open positions and 22 percent have reduced staff.

Pennsylvania newspaper publishers, from the smallest weeklies to large dailies, estimated the tariffs could add anywhere from $5,000 to more than $2 million to their costs this year.

http://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/13739710-74/tariffs-on-canadian-paper-squeezing-news-industry

[left-of-center2012]

1. So ...

Tariffs against our allies cost Americans money ?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Previously at DU:

CJR:New paper tariffs could cost jobs at US publishers

https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/newsprint_tariff_canada_layoffs.php

This regime's pandering to a few whiny American corporations is amazing. And not in a good way.

First there were the tariffs on solar panels, which the industry here in the US could cost tens of thousands of jobs.

Now there's this article in the Columbia Journalism Review after a tariff on Canadian newsprint, which will add to the cost of newspapers. In addition to potential job losses, there's the potential threat of some newspapers simply closing up shop. Sure, you can argue that print newspapers are something of an anachronism in 2018, but we are all threatened by the decline of newspaper publishing.

So, one whiny company in the Pacific Northwest has succeeded in having a tariff imposed on Canadian newsprint, which primarily affects papers in the northeast. To save a small handful of jobs, the knock-on impact will be negative and potentially vast. But that doesn't matter in trump's America. And, if I had a few minutes, I'd probably find that the paper company in the northwest is a substantial contributor to trump and the GOP

[badhair77]

3. My son works for a small weekly and this increase could do them in.

This needless tariff nonsense has hit home for our family.

[Power 2 the People]

4. Is Trump trying to silence the press with this tariff?

Our founding fathers subsidized newspapers to ensure the public always had access to information. Could this be a backdoor attempt atcensorship from a fledgling dictator?