Oswald Garrison Villard in 1918: Few industries maintain so many unprofitable enterprises as newspapers. A newspaper owner gets a place at every table, access to all the top politicians' ears, and the power to impose his worldview on his readers—or, at least, the illusion of such influence.

Clay Shirky: Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism. And journalism has always been subsidized.

Jack Shafer: What's gotten many newspapers in trouble today is poorly timed acquisitions. At the height of the bubble, no price was too high if a newspaper claimed to be the dominant daily in a market. Newspaper owners who overburdened themselves with debt are more vulnerable than the medium itself. Most struggling newspapers will survive at lower but handsome profit margins.

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