Trudy Wade Aims to Take Two Scoops From Newspapers

N.C. Sen. Trudy Wade is known for her efforts to cut environmental regulations, but over the past month she has been pushing an even more Trump-esque agenda: punishing papers because of her distaste for the media.

Wade is pushing a bill that would hurt newspapers in two ways, by allowing municipalities to publish legal notices on their own websites — meaning they wouldn’t have to pay newspapers to do so, as has been the case for much of modern history — and forcing newspapers to classify their part-time carriers as employees instead of independent contractors.

As stated by the News & Observer editorial board in an op-ed that ran today,
 

Wade knows that both the legal notices change and the proposed rule on carriers could have serious financial consequences for newspapers … And imposing that financial pain, not creating good law, is her real objective.

We agree, and though it’s something we’ve been used to for some time now, it’s tough for us journalists to report on politicians’ efforts to burn down the planet we’re living on when they’re also trying to burn up the checks we make a living off of.

But that’s the point, isn’t it, Senator?

This article appears in May 31 – Jun 6, 2017.