Should the DoD continue to help fund Stars & Stripes?

2020-02-11T15:15:26-05:00

I'm curious what people think about this proposal in the new federal budget. It's been around since WWII and I always found Stars and Stripes to be one of the few objective news sources left and one of the only resources of news while deployed. The amount the DoD spends on helping to ensure troops get news is minuscule compared to the overall DoD budget but cutting these costs could have a great impact on S&S operations.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 11 at 2020 3:26 PM

2020-02-11T15:26:07-05:00

I think this is a bad move. Again, SMs down range don't always have access to electronic driven media, so S&S helps fill that void.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 11 at 2020 3:35 PM

2020-02-11T15:35:49-05:00

Unfortunately this is the way of the future. And i hate it. ESPN the magazine recently stopped producing their magazine completely. Even sports Illustrated has now gone from a weekly to a monthly magazine. Im the kind of guy that would still rather have a newspaper/magazine in between my fingers. I was watching a video yesterday and saw that most young people get their news from Twitter. WTF? That's just crazy to me, but what do i know? I'm an old guy now i guess.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 11 at 2020 8:46 PM

2020-02-11T20:46:11-05:00

I have been a reader of Stars and Stripes since I was a dependent in Germany in 89.
And I like newspapers, I like how the page doesn't crash or scroll up, I like how I don't have to click out of 2 or 3 popups just to finish a damn paragraph.
And I like how newsprint is almost always devoid of the spelling and grammatical errors that make so many of the online "content providers" so hard to take seriously.
And I like how Stripes gets delivered for free when you are downrange.
If we can afford $500 mil+ for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, $7 mil is not going to break the bank to get newspapers to the troops.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 11 at 2020 9:15 PM

2020-02-11T21:15:48-05:00

They should cut it. I would've said this for the past decade if I knew it was funded with my tax dollars. Nobody buys the paper, and very few people look at it online. It posts important material too late i.e. promotion points, board selections, etc. With most units in the Army unable to train effectively and regularly due to lack of ammunition allocation, I'd say the money could definitely be better spent elsewhere.