The End of Media As We Knew It

If you haven't had the chance to read Ted Koppel's Op-Ed in Sunday's New York Times about the devolution of media, I strongly recommend it. It simply reinforces what's been mentioned here previously, and what was predicted over a decade ago. It also greatly offended, apparently, Keith Olbermann, who has stated he'll have a commentary in response on tonight's show.

I'm more or less with Koppel, however, I will take issue with one statement:

The transition of news from a public service to a profitable commodity is irreversible.

The St. Petersburg (FL) Times clearly shows the way that media, and newspapers in particular, can re-make themselves as non-profits. This seems a reasonable path to survival for what's left of your local newspaper, in my opinion, but more on that to come.