Americans find it hard to comprehend: a government (Israel) threatening to shut down a free distribution newspaper to protect paid circulation newspapers - one in particular.
As a former newspaper printer, reporter, & editor, and as an Israeli who knows Israeli newspapers, I come down solidly on the side of the free distribution publication.
Newspaper Economics: Newspaper - ALL newspapers - make their money by selling advertisements.
In the U.S., the difference between a "shopper" - normally freely distributed - and a newspaper - normally paid distribution - is the ratio of advertising to news content; a shopper has no limits, a newspaper must have 30% or more news content, or so it was when I wielded a pica pole and blue pencil.
Full page advertisements to tiny 5 point classifieds; legals, those announcements required by governments and the legal system often make the difference between a publication's survival or its demise.
Been there, done that.
Advertising rates are determined by the publication's circulation; the greater the circulation, the more the publication can - and usually does - charge for advertising.
It costs a tad more to advertise in the New York Times than in does in Cocoa TODAY, never mind that the Cocoa FL newspaper is the progenitor of the national Today publication. (I'm partial to Cocoa TODAY since I was involved in creating its first edition. Great fun.)
Apparently, the publisher of Yedioth Aharonoth correctly feels his paper is threatened by the free-distribution Israel HaYom (Israel This day).
Yedioth Aharonoth's main competition, Ma'arive already ceased publication, leaving Israel with three dominant paid circulation dailies: Yedioth Aharonoth, now left-leaning HaAretz, and the English language Jerusalem (nee' Palestine) Post. The country no longer has - to the best of my knowledge - any "simple Hebrew" newspapers for new olim and students of the Hebrew language.
Yedioth Aharonoth is not without resources: it owns, among other properties, Ynet, a news and general content website as well as a popular cable tv channel.
With the demise of Ma'arive and before the arrival of Israel HaYom, Yedioth Aharonoth was the circulation leader of Hebrew language newspapers in Israel.
Israel HaYom now surpasses Yedioth Aharonoth's circulation.
Perhaps two undeclared reasons behind the owner of Yedioth Aharonoth's effort to stop Israel HaYom are
* Difference of political opinion; Yedioth Aharonoth is liberal to Israel HaYom's conservative and
* Ownership: Yedioth Aharonoth always has been owned by Israelis while Israel HaYom is owned by American Sheldon Adelson. Adelson is reportedly the world's 8th or 9th richest person with an estimated wealth of some US$40.8 billion.
Regardless of political perspective or owner's nationality (assuming it is in the host country's interests), it seems that Israel's politicians - if not Yedioth Aharonoth - should welcome Israel HaYom rather than attempt to create laws to restrict it.
But then Israel's politicians are no better than those in the U.S. who put self-interest ahead of the people they are supposed to represent.
As for me, I'd like to see a free liberal competitor to Israel HaYom's conservative perspective (actually I REALLY like to see an unbiased publication, but I think that's a thing of the past even in the U.S.). Both political positions are alive and well on-line, in English and Hebrew and, perhaps, other languages.
