A sampling of opinions

I was browsing today and, for some unknown reason, I kept bumping into pieces about the print newspaper posture.  Most were straightforward news items, laced with plenty of facts and forecasts of potential outcomes.  There were a few others that caught my eye for various reasons and I was prompted to throw together this eclectic sampling.

A blunt and somewhat jaded blog post by Ron Kaye, formerly of the LA Daily News, that also presents an interesting take on being an “activist” now instead of a journalist:  http://ronkayela.com/2008/12/the-press-the-final-solution.html

Quite a number of the masses speak up (some not so eloquently) when Ann Coulter declares she greets “every newspaper going bankrupt with joy”:  http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/12/ann_coulter_i_great_every_news.html?f=most-commented-24h-10
Here is the YouTube video of her taking the question and responding.

Okay, this is strange.  It is on a motorcycle adventure riding forum and one member started a thread about why the government should bail out the newspaper industry!  http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=413710.  I certainly would not have expected that discussion on a motorcycle forum.  His helmet might be one size too small.

Finally, my favorite of the samples.  A potential subscriber’s reaction to the Chicago Tribune’s bankruptcy:  http://2ohreally.com/2008/12/who-would-subscribe-to-a-bankrupt-newspaper/

Well, it is almost a new year.  Sorry, no resolution to run a marathon (done that twice, don’t want to do it a third time) or learn a foreign language (I might learn one or two programming languages this year…does that count?)  How about a prediction?  2009 will be the year the Seattle Times Company goes down the tubes, but I don’t think it will be through bankruptcy as most suspect.  That’s all I will say on that one.