Former CBS anchor and present HDNet reporter Dan Rather called on President Obama to step in and help the press get through its current financial woes. Speaking at the Aspen Institute in Aspen CO, he called for the formation of a special commission to study the plight of journalism and come up with a model to save it. He said an independent media was critical to the survival of democracy.
RBR/TVBR observation: All we know is that the minute journalism is sustained by the government is the minute it ceases to be independent. A new business model is what is needed right now. If a commission helps find that model, fine. If it recommends public financing for journalism, well, that’s just the old Soviet Union model, isn’t it?
