Is it a conflict of interest for news outlets to accept federal money under the Paycheck Protection Program? Will taking government funds cause them to go soft in their coverage of those in power?

The front page of a recent issue of Seven Days, a free weekly in Burlington, Vt., suggests the answer is no.

On April 3, the paper applied for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program, which is meant to help small businesses through the coronavirus pandemic. Five days later, its front page showed a caricature of President Trump tossing toilet paper rolls labeled “CA$H” to people in need.

“We were joking about that,” said Paula Routly, the publisher and co-editor, referring to the dissonance between the paper’s loan application and its depiction of the man whose signature made the program possible.