The Wrong Way to Reinvent Media, Part 3: Media Vouchers

Abstract

In this installment, we will consider whether it is possible to steer citizens toward so-called “hard news” (“serious” journalism) - and get them to financially support it - through the use of “news vouchers” or “public interest vouchers”? We will argue that using the tax code to nudge people to support media - while less problematic than direct subsidies for the press - will likely raise serious issues regarding eligibility and be prone to political meddling. Moreover, the scheme is unlikely to succeed in encouraging people to direct more resources to hard news and will likely instead become a method of subsidizing other media content they already consume.

Keywords: PFF, policy, communications, regulation, law