Development and Effects of Finnish Press Subsidies

Picard, Robert G.; Grönlund, Mikko

doi:10.1080/14616700306499

Cited by 19 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…They argue that a main reason for this is that the existing subsidies typically attack variable costs rather than fixed costs. Consistent with this, Picard and Grönlund (2003) find that instead of promoting a variety of viewpoints, Finnish press subsidies have primarily benefited the press of the dominant political parties, thus resembling the results found for…”

Section: Empirical Analyses Of Direct Media Supportsupporting

confidence: 78%

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Effects of taxes and subsidies on media services

Kind¹,

Møen²

2015

Handbook on the Economics of the Media

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We start out reviewing the justification for press subsidies. The social value of journalism can be larger than what the newspapers are able to extract because of knowledge externalities, public good characteristics of investigative journalism and non-appropriability of consumer surplus. A free market will then underinvest in journalism. Problems related to economies of scale and scope further imply that the number of newspapers and their circulations may be too small, while advertising can give newspapers too strong incentives to aim for the mass market. According to the media economics literature, a preferential VAT regime provides higher differentiation incentives for existing newspapers, while a tax deduction for editorial expenses is well suited to increase journalistic investments. Micro economic theory further indicates that fixed transfers is the most efficient instrument to reduce entry barriers and avoid newspaper mortality, and that a subsidy per copy sold will increase circulation. We end the article by summarizing empirical evidence on the effects of media support.

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Section: Empirical Analyses Of Direct Media Supportsupporting

confidence: 78%

“…It is customary to distinguish between direct and indirect media support (Picard and Grönlund, 2003). In contrast to direct aid, indirect aid does not enter as observable items in a firm's financial statement.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of taxes and subsidies on media services

Kind¹,

Møen²

2015

Handbook on the Economics of the Media

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“…In both cases it was justified by the need for additional state revenuesalthough the actual tax revenue in retrospect never reached the projected levels. At the same time, Finland stands out as the country where the financial arguments dominate the political rhetoric over cultural concerns and the Finnish public support for news media has been in steady decline since the 1990s (Picard and Grönlund 2003). Sweden and Norway in particular, having stronger public finances, have more clearly justified their political decisions based on arguments of media pluralism and cross-media harmonisation.…”

Section: The Financial Argumentmentioning

confidence: 98%

The Shifting Role of Value-Added Tax (VAT) as a Media Policy Tool: A Three-Country Comparison of Political Justifications

Ots¹,

Krumsvik

Ala-Fossi

et al. 2016

Javnost - The Public

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Media policy schemes around the world are seemingly shifting character. As budgets for direct subsidies are under increasing pressure, the role of indirect tools, such as tax reductions, are growing in relative importance. This article explores the political justifications of value-added tax (VAT) as a media policy tool, and how longitudinal shifts indicate broader changes in the media systems. Based on a document analysis of newspaper VAT development in three countries with similar historical policy models-Finland, Sweden and Norway-the article identifies and describes the dynamics between four major policy positions; transparency, pluralism, harmonisation and financial austerity.

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“…Experience has shown that balanced interventions are vital as such measures could also threaten diversity and stimulate further concentration trends. Research into the various forms of press assistance and their levels of efficacy has shown that there is only a limited correlation between the accepted arguments for giving press assistance and the actual consequences of such assistance (see Charon, 1994;Picard, 1985Picard, , 1987Picard and Grönlund, 2003).…”

Section: A Search For Alternate Forms Of Press Subsidymentioning

confidence: 99%

To Read or Not to Read

Raeymaeckers

Hauttekeete²,

Deprez

2007

European Journal of Communication

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For some time European newspaper markets have been confronted with decreasing circulation and readership figures. Research focused on patterns of consumption reveals that young people in particular spend less time reading newspapers. Since 2003, the government in Flanders has supported the Newspapers in Education programme in search of more qualitative and long-term alternatives to press subsidy, aimed at the preservation of the future readership market. As a result, the government and Flemish newspaper publishers distribute almost 1 million newspaper copies to schools every year. Each school year, approximately 100,000 students participate in the Newspapers in Education project. Over the years the financial support has grown and recently the Flemish government decided to substantially increase its contribution to γ1.2 million, which will make it possible to expand the target group considerably, beyond the original focus on 16- to 18-year-olds. The research presented in this article analyses the shifts in pre and post test design survey results of the participants who took part in the Newspaper in Education project between February and May 2005.

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Development and Effects of Finnish Press Subsidies

Cited by 19 publications

References 1 publication

Effects of taxes and subsidies on media services

Effects of taxes and subsidies on media services

The Shifting Role of Value-Added Tax (VAT) as a Media Policy Tool: A Three-Country Comparison of Political Justifications

To Read or Not to Read

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