Italian papers fight off public funding cut

A proposal to cut public funding to newspapers has united Italy's politically divergent press. Papers from left and right are banding together together to fight off a government threat to the subsidies they receive, which amounted last year to £75m plus tax credits and loans. Hundreds of papers take advantage of the current law, including sporting and religious journals as well as nearly 150 publications for Italians living abroad, but the main beneficiaries are papers linked to political parties. The government's decision to cut funding is part of its attempt to cut its deficit. (Via Europe - International Herald Tribune)