Gov. Walker Targets Wisconsin’s Craft Breweries
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 12th, 2011 4:41 am by HL
Gov. Walker Targets Wisconsin’s Craft Breweries
Gov. Scott Walker’s budget includes yet another (previously overlooked) way in which he’s willing to serve big business at the expense of the little guy: He’s taking aim at craft breweries by making it more difficult for them to distribute their products. Of course, beverage giant MillerCoors supports the provision, which would regulate smaller operations as though they too were multinational corporations. With a long legacy of brewing that descends back to its early German immigrants, Wisconsin makes craft beer that’s often spectacularly good. It’s a damned shame Walker is getting his hooks into a state treasure. —KDG ThinkProgress: The new provision treats craft brewers — the 60 of whom make up just 5 percent of the beer market in Wisconsin — like corporate mega-brewers, forcing them to use a wholesale distributor to market their product. Under the provision, it would be illegal, for instance, for a small brewer located near a restaurant to walk next door to deliver a case of beer. They’ll have to hire a middle man to do it instead. But more noteworthy than the provision itself is how it was enacted. The provision was quietly slipped in the massive budget legislation without any consultation from independent craft brewers, who are justifiably outraged by it. One group that clearly did have input, however, is one of the world’s largest beer makers—MillerCoors. Read more
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Gov. Scott Walker’s budget includes yet another (previously overlooked) way in which he’s willing to serve big business at the expense of the little guy: He’s taking aim at craft breweries by making it more difficult for them to distribute their products. Of course, beverage giant MillerCoors supports the provision, which would regulate smaller operations as though they too were multinational corporations. With a long legacy of brewing that descends back to its early German immigrants, Wisconsin makes craft beer that’s often spectacularly good. It’s a damned shame Walker is getting his hooks into a state treasure.? —KDG
ThinkProgress:
The new provision treats craft brewers — the 60 of whom make up just 5 percent of the beer market in Wisconsin — like corporate mega-brewers, forcing them to use a wholesale distributor to market their product. Under the provision, it would be illegal, for instance, for a small brewer located near a restaurant to walk next door to deliver a case of beer. They’ll have to hire a middle man to do it instead.
But more noteworthy than the provision itself is how it was enacted. The provision was quietly slipped in the massive budget legislation without any consultation from independent craft brewers, who are justifiably outraged by it. One group that clearly did have input, however, is one of the world’s largest beer makers—MillerCoors.
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Quality Lacking in Online News Boom, FCC Says
The FCC has produced a massive study on the state of local Internet news in the U.S., confirming what many of us already know: A proliferation of online news outlets has not yielded a corresponding increase in the kind of in-depth, quality reporting needed to keep private interests and government in check. For example, the study found that local television stations—which are a huge provider of online community news—are more likely to focus on inexpensively produced crime stories than resource-heavy investigations into abuses of power. “In many communities, we now face a shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting,” the study’s introduction states. “This is likely to lead to the kinds of problems that are, not surprisingly, associated with a lack of accountability—more government waste, more local corruption, less effective schools, and other serious community problems. The independent watchdog function that the Founding Fathers envisioned for journalism—going so far as to call it crucial to a healthy democracy—is in some cases at risk at the local level.” —ARK The Los Angeles Times: In a 475-page report released Thursday titled, “The Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age,” the government regulatory agency, which has oversight over television and radio as well as certain aspects of the Internet, said there is a “shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting” that could lead to “more government waste, more local corruption,” “less effective schools” and other problems. … Indeed, the FCC noted that The Times covers almost 100 municipalities and 10 million residents. David Lauter, Metro editor of The Times, is quoted as saying that his staff is “spread thinner and there are fewer people on any given area. … We’re not there every day, or even every week or every month. Unfortunately, nobody else is either.” Local TV is singled out in the report for not covering important issues enough. Although the number of hours of local news has increased over the last few years, too few stations “are investing in more reporting on critical local issues,” the report said. Furthermore, the report said that although stations may be adding newscasts, they are doing it with fewer reporters. Read more
The FCC has produced a massive study on the state of local Internet news in the U.S., confirming what many of us already know: A proliferation of online news outlets has not yielded a corresponding increase in the kind of in-depth, quality reporting needed to keep private interests and government in check. For example, the study found that local television stations—which are a huge provider of online community news—are more likely to focus on inexpensively produced crime stories than resource-heavy investigations into abuses of power.
“In many communities, we now face a shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting,” the study’s introduction states. “This is likely to lead to the kinds of problems that are, not surprisingly, associated with a lack of accountability—more government waste, more local corruption, less effective schools, and other serious community problems. The independent watchdog function that the Founding Fathers envisioned for journalism—going so far as to call it crucial to a healthy democracy—is in some cases at risk at the local level.” —ARK
The Los Angeles Times:
In a 475-page report released Thursday titled, “The Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age,” the government regulatory agency, which has oversight over television and radio as well as certain aspects of the Internet, said there is a “shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting” that could lead to “more government waste, more local corruption,” “less effective schools” and other problems.
… Indeed, the FCC noted that The Times covers almost 100 municipalities and 10 million residents. David Lauter, Metro editor of The Times, is quoted as saying that his staff is “spread thinner and there are fewer people on any given area. … We’re not there every day, or even every week or every month. Unfortunately, nobody else is either.”
Local TV is singled out in the report for not covering important issues enough. Although the number of hours of local news has increased over the last few years, too few stations “are investing in more reporting on critical local issues,” the report said. Furthermore, the report said that although stations may be adding newscasts, they are doing it with fewer reporters.
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