In theory, news reporting has long been valued as a public good. But in modern American history, where newspaper publishers traditionally operated as local monopolies and consistently pulled in 20%-plus profit margins, the idea of public sympathy for newspapers was really beside the point. Publishers had it both ways: well-funded newsrooms and healthy, stable earnings.
Now, of course, those happy days may have disappeared forever. As layoffs affect almost every major newsroom in the country and news coverage - ...