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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(107,111 posts)
Thu May 14, 2020, 08:33 PM May 2020

Restaurant Chains Took Loans Meant for Small Businesses. Will Radio Conglomerates Do the Same?

At the end of April, more than 120 members of the House of Representatives issued a plea to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “Reliable local information and reporting in our communities is… more important than ever as our country responds to and recovers from the COVID-19 crisis,” they wrote. “Congress must do everything possible to protect local news sources during this crisis to safeguard our democracy and keep our communities informed.”

An early version of what’s being called the Heroes Act, a $3 trillion package, attempts to answer this call. The bill provides an additional $10 billion for the Payroll Protection Program — which offers forgivable loans to small businesses on the condition that they spend 75% of the money on payroll — and loosens eligibility requirements to help newspapers, radio stations, and TV networks apply.

But as the bill is currently written, small business owners fear that radio stations under the control of large conglomerates will be eligible for money along with hard-hit local newspapers. Treating major conglomerates — which own hundreds of stations and employ thousands of workers — like a small business is roughly akin to treating an aircraft carrier like a rowboat.

The National Association of Broadcasters, a lobbying group that represents modest radio groups as well as the massive chains — including iHeartMedia (around 850 stations), Townsquare Media (around 320 stations), and Entercom (more than 235 stations) — cheered the Heroes Act. “Hometown broadcasters and community newspapers are providing vital news and information during these unprecedented times to keep families and communities safe, while struggling with record advertising revenue losses,” the NAB wrote in a statement on Tuesday. “Broadcasters look forward to working with all Members of Congress to ensure that such legislative language is swiftly enacted.”

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/radio-conglomerates-stimulus-bill-999462/

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Restaurant Chains Took Loans Meant for Small Businesses. Will Radio Conglomerates Do the Same? (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin May 2020 OP
if yer part of a coporate chain, the chain should be providing stimulus, not taxpayers nt msongs May 2020 #1
Any money given to IHeartMedia House of Roberts May 2020 #2

House of Roberts

(5,122 posts)
2. Any money given to IHeartMedia
Thu May 14, 2020, 09:53 PM
May 2020

will end up in the pockets of Bain Capital.

No station that carries Beck/Limbaugh/Hannity should get a dime either.

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