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I work for and believe in the mission of newspapers, but I beg to differ. I think a more accurate statement would be that if a critical mass of the institutions

I work for and believe in the mission of newspapers, but I beg to differ. I think a more accurate statement would be that if a critical mass of the institutions of journalism as we know it today ceased to exist, it would (and will) have far-reaching implications for society. We casually talk about the death of newspapers, and they will likely disappear, but I think we don't talk enough about the important things that may disappear with them and what we're doing to preserve those things. As far as the NYT goes however, I don't believe that the impact would be much more than sadness based in nostalgia. The talent that exists there today would still exist, and be applying their skills at other institutions, both new and old.

ForrestN 15y ago
I'm not intimately involved with this, as it sounds like you are, but it feels to me like the NYT as a paragon of American journalism won't be easily replaced. It's true that the people who work there would find other jobs (at least most of them), but I don't think the value of the NYT is just the sum of its people. How do you recreate the culture that comes from a history of unrivaled excellence and the role of being the "paper of record" for so many generations? That's not an easy mantle to pull out of thin air. How do you convince a younger organization, or even a smaller organization, to continue to devote resources to cover unprofitable stories like the continuing developments in Tunisia, for example. Same with Apple, I would argue. Take all the people that work there and spread them out to competing companies and you don't necessarily get the same results.