Local newsrooms are so pressed for cash that historic taboos on asking for government assistance seem to have melted away.
As the applications for federal coronavirus relief loans open, many newsroom leaders and industry lobbyists have suggested they’ll seek a piece of the action, and possibly seek permanent help down the line. Hard times or no, this would be an unprecedented step into new ethics territory for most of American journalism.
Poynter’s business analyst Rick Edmonds and Kelly McBride, the chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, discuss the pros and cons.