Death To Newspapers?

From Media Notes

"John Carroll, who is stepping down as editor of the Tribune Company-owned LAT, was asked by Columbia Journalism Review : 'Is it possible for a great newspaper to thrive under the umbrella of a publicly traded corporation?

"'JC: This is one of the penetrating questions about our business. Can corporations that are not family-controlled produce excellent newspapers? The returns aren't in, but it's not looking good. Newspaper-owning corporations -- and I mean all of them, not just my own employer -- have an unwritten pact with Wall Street that requires unsustainably high profit levels. Each year, newspapers shed reporters, editors, photographers, designers and newshole. Each year, readers get less. Each year many of those readers turn elsewhere for their news. . . .

"'It's important that the Los Angeles Times remain firmly in the top tier -- important to the community, important to journalism, important to the national conversation. There's no other newsgathering engine this formidable west of Manhattan. The nation's voice should not be monopolized by New York and Washington.'"