The main reason which made newspaperdom feel menacing was that broadcasting could spread to lots of areas at once when breaking news occurred.This is obviously that newspapers cannot make it.
It has some similarities to the proposal made by the Trump administration in late September and one of them is reducing the number of tax brackets based on Americans' income.
But the overall impact highlights the novel's underlying themes: the hypocrisy of many but compassion of some; the way craven people get the callous rulers they deserve, yet now and then rise to a nobility that deserves better.
Back here in the States, where the country was still mourning the recent death of President Franklin Roosevelt the news was marked by church bells and cheers.