Tweaks in policy or taxes, not major bailouts, would help newspapers serve readers

[Commentary] A federal bailout newspapers would not advance the critical role newspapers pay in their communities. A better approach would be tweaks in federal and state policies that can help newspapers become more sustainable. The L3C (low-profit limited liability company) model is a better solution than the not-for-profit. It sets up a system that plows profits back into the newspaper. Probably not a system that would interest the big chains. But it could be a good model for a local person or a group that wants to buy a newspaper from a bankrupt chain like Tribune. Washington state newspapers received a break on the state business-and-occupation tax this year. A rather minor assist that is already applied to larger companies in the aerospace and timber industries. Yes, newspapers have a different relationship with the government than Boeing or Weyerhaeuser. But minor tweaks to taxing or new ownership models made possible in Congress won't lead to journalists being wards of the state. What it will help ensure is that some, not all, newspapers will make it through this slumping economy with a sustainable structure.