10 things the US government can do to help digital news entrepreneurs

[Commentary] Let's not dismiss too quickly the federal government's potential role in promoting good news coverage.

Here are 10 steps that the US government could take that would significantly help entrepreneurs trying expand the news coverage of their local communities. And none of them involve direct subsidies or payments to the news industry. 1) Protect network neutrality. 2) Expand broadband coverage. 3) Digitize public records and put them online in open formats. 4) Pass a national shield law, with explicit protection for online publishers. 5) Regulate electronic transaction fees. 6) Revisit the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 7) Ditch the Federal Trade Commission's "blogger endorsement" rule. 8) Model zoning reform to make it easier to run a business from your home. 9) Remove payroll tax cap and reduce rate. 10) National health care.