Nancy Pelosi is suddenly a fan of free markets -- if it will save her precious leftist Bay Area newspapers! The latest report:
In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, released by Pelosi's office late Monday, the San Francisco Democrat asked the department to weigh the public benefit of saving The Chronicle and other papers from closure against the agency's antitrust mission to guard against anti-competitive behavior.
"We must ensure that our policies enable our news organizations to survive and to engage in the news gathering and analysis that the American people expect," Pelosi wrote.
The speaker said the issue of newspapers' survival and antitrust law will be the subject of a hearing soon before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Competition Policy, chaired by Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga.
Pelosi's spokesman, Brendan Daly, said the speaker was moved by the recent announcement by the Hearst Corp., the parent company of The Chronicle, that it would be forced to sell or close the paper if it could not achieve major cost-savings quickly. Hearst has said the paper lost $50 million last year and that this year's losses will likely be worse. . . . .
"She's been a big fan of newspapers her whole life," Daly said. "She wants to ensure their survival, but is also very concerned about anti-trust laws. We have to make sure we follow the well-established guidelines of the Justice Department."
Pelosi released the two-page letter after meeting in her Capitol office last week with Chronicle at-large editor Phil Bronstein and Hearst general counsel Eve Burton, where they discussed the future of the paper and federal media shield legislation.
In the carefully worded letter, Pelosi urged the Justice Department to take a broader view of media competition in the Bay Area. Rather than seeing The Chronicle's main competitors as other newspapers, she urged the department to consider television and Internet media sources and online advertising outlets as competitors as part of any future antitrust review. . . . .
"I am confident that the Antitrust Division, in assessing any concerns that any proposed mergers or other arrangements in the San Francisco area might reduce competition, will take into appropriate account, as relevant, not only the number of daily and weekly newspapers in the Bay Area, but also the other sources of news and advertising outlets available in the electronic and digital age, so that the conclusions reached reflect current market realities," Pelosi wrote.
"This is consistent with antitrust enforcement in recent years under both Republican and Democratic administrations. And the result will be to allow free market forces to preserve as many news sources, as many viewpoints, and as many jobs as possible."
Isn't that great? Nancy Pelosi realizes that newspapers compete not just with other newspapers, but also with other media! Brilliant! She wants "to allow free market forces to preserve as many news sources, as many viewpoints, and as many jobs as possible!"
Who would have guessed? Nancy Pelosi is a veritable Ayn Rand!
I can't wait to see Pelosi and her fellow open-minded Democrats bring this same refreshing appreciation for the free market to the issue of whether the government should more tightly regulate talk radio!
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