This Idea Will Save the Newspaper Industry
Weekly Standard blogger Michael Goldfarb is making good use of his leave from the magazine! Well, besides writing John McCain's official blog. [Update: This is a different Michael Goldfarb. Who knew?] He also wrote a letter to Romenesko, as all concerned journos must at some point, with a suggestion about saving the very institution of journalism. It involves capitalism!
"Why doesn't David Geffen provide a proper amount of backing for an online newspaper out of LA and why doesn't he hire the staff of the LA Times en masse and let them keep putting it out under a different name? That way Geffen would have the pleasure of owning LA's paper of record, the staff might have the opportunity of doing their jobs without worrying if their names are going to come out of the hat at the next round of cutbacks, forests of precious trees would be saved and no one would get their hands or light suits stained with ink while reading about current affairs."
That's kind of a great idea! And then why doesn't David Geffen buy some closed steel mills and textile factories in Ohio and pay all the workers to keep making all that steel and those textiles too? Then he can give everyone welfare. Oh wait, did we say capitalism? We meant handouts! WHAT HAPPENED TO PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY?