Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but the newspaper bailout has begun

Here’s a tiny news item that appeared on the Seattle Times Web site late Tuesday: “[Washington] Gov. Chris Gregoire has approved a tax break for the state’s troubled newspaper industry. The new law gives newspaper printers and publishers a 40 percent cut in the state’s main business tax. The discounted rate mirrors breaks given in years past to the Boeing Co. and the timber industry.” The newspaper bailout of ’09 has begun.