The United States federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the last two decades on corporate media subscriptions and secondary services new outlets provide, such as databases, newswire services, marketing tools, and media monitoring. While the payments are dubiously justified by claims that the subscriptions are necessary for productivity, critics contend that the government contracts look more like the government is directly funding the media. One of the more concerning instances is numerous contracts held by government agencies with POLITICO—which infamously and falsely declared the Hunter Biden laptop to be Russian disinformation, citing “[m]ore than 50 former senior intelligence officials.”
In the case of POLITICO, the outlet received $8.1 million in government payments through over 200 transactions. Most of the payments are from various federal departments and agencies paying for subscription fees, though some are for higher-cost products like databases, email distribution, and other services. Another major recipient of government payments is Thomson Reuters and its various subsidiaries. Combined, the network of Reuters media and business properties has received nearly $20 million in government payments in recent years.
A SUBSCRIPTION RACKET.
Increasingly, major corporate media outlets like POLITICO—which is owned by the German-based media company Axel Springer SE—and Thomson Reuters—a Canadian media conglomerate—are offering high-priced business and government subscription services. In exchange for the often five or even six-figure annual subscriptions, government officials and corporate executives are given access to databases, paywalled media stories, email distribution tools, market analysis, and public relations tools.
While corporate news outlets claim these tools are necessary for their subscribers, the practice actually appears to be intended to siphon taxpayer dollars through upselling relatively unused services. Critics note that in some instances, the databases that government subscribers are given access to are often just repackaged or better-organized government data.
THE LAPTOP FROM HELL.
Additionally, the reliance on government spending raises ethical concerns regarding the influence of news coverage. During the 2020 election, POLITICO served as the key instigator in a corporate media narrative that framed the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop as Russian disinformation. Underpinning their story is a letter signed by over 50 American intelligence officials, which itself appears to have been coordinated by Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and other figures aligned with the Democratic Party.
Notably, the corporate media continued to insist the laptop and its content were part of a Russian influence operation even after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) quietly confirmed that the laptop’s content was authentic and belonged to Hunter Biden.