Should Newspapers Become Charity Cases - or Businesses?

In Slate, Jack Shafer considers a Wall Street Journal op-ed by Steven Rattner, a major investor.

The problem with Rattner's view is that it's of an investor, not a businessperson. The two are conflated all the time in industry and the press, but unwisely because there are key differences. Looking at profit or loss of investments can significantly differ from trying to understand how to steer and correct a business.

The problem with the newspaper industry, I think, is that managers don't realize that it's not a product but a service, and the people who perform the service *are* the company to the customers. That means they can't downsize their way out of troubles nor can they find the magic format that will attract readers. Any publication is thought and emotion made manifest. Good format is necessary to intelligently communicate, but if you have ever less behind it, who cares? It does make me wonder that if the corporate owners want to treat newspapers like a business, why don't they do it completely and invest to protect and expand? Perhaps those that created newspaper conglomerates are still heir to an approach to business identified by Frank Norris in his story The Octopus: all -- the -- traffic -- will -- bear. However, when you people for what you can, they remember. And they wait.