Proposed Drudge Tax

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has expressed fears about the effect the Internet has on traditional journalism (read: mainstream media) and has proposed some initiatives to sustain the historical status quo.

Proposals include the creation of a government-funded AmeriCorps news media, the taxing of Internet news aggregators such as the Drudge Report, the taxing of consumer electronics devices such as iPads, Kindles and laptops to force people to read dead-tree versions of the news, and tax exemptions for traditional news organizations.

In a nutshell, the proposals appear to simply prop up the MSM and burden new media while giving the government an opening to control actual news reporting.

FTC debate and discussion begins on June 15.

Source1, Source2