“We’re probably hanging on by our fingers now,” Blethen said. “The tangible result is with all the pressure on budgets and all the red ink right now, anything that helps dampen that means that there’s going to be fewer reporters laid off, and less content reduction. It’s not big enough to take a lot of pressure off, but it helps.”

The News Tribune of Tacoma publisher Dave Zeeck said that the approximate $100,000 a year in savings his newspaper will see is the equivalent of keeping two reporters on staff for a year.

“We are doing everything we can to preserve news content, and this certainly helps,” he said, noting that they are still paying about $150,000 in state business and occupation taxes even after the cut.

Washington state’s tax cut is to the state’s business and occupation tax, which is based on gross revenues instead of profit. Washington is one of just a handful of states that does not have a state income tax. The law provides newspapers the same discounted rate given to the aerospace industry, including Boeing Co., and the timber industry.

But media watchers are quick to point out that those other industries have a different relationship with the government than newspapers.

“It makes me a little nervous,” said Dave Aeikens, president of the Society for Professional Journalists. “There needs to be a clear separation between the government and the watchdog role of the press. If it looks like there’s any type of tie, then the public’s not going to trust the press.”

Publishers say that line is not in jeopardy.

“We’re very good at separating our opinions from our news coverage,” said Michael Shepard, publisher of the Yakima Herald-Republic. “We’ve been doing that for hundreds of years. It wasn’t our reporters and editors who were asking for this relief.”

Rufus Woods, publisher and editor of the family-owned Wenatchee World, said he didn’t personally push for the tax cut because he didn’t think it was enough to make a difference, and that with the state’s current financial troubles, “I didn’t think it was a good year to do it.”

“I don’t think it’s up to the government to make us survive,” he said. “We need to figure out how to make that happen. We’re like any other business. We need to find new ways to do things.”