[wooster]

I'm telling them to get rid of their biggest cost: printing and distribution.

Also, I'm not saying they should get rid of the classifieds section, which is a big chunk (about half? hard to find any data on it) of their advertising income.

As for reporters: they're cheap. In the range of $40-100k (from quick Google search) a year for a New York Times reporter. Much less at other papers. Hire 10 reporters to dig into corruption, waste, and fraud in San Francisco and I'd be happy to plunk down a subscription fee.

[Tichy]

"Hire 10 reporters to dig into corruption, waste, and fraud"

Isn't that actually the job of the police?

[rabidgnat]

The police investigates crimes that have already been observed. Journalists have the freedom to investigate potential crimes based on their gut feeling. Recall Enron - a police officer standing anywhere in Headquarters would have missed a crime. However, some pesky reporters asking too many questions brought the whole operation to its knees.

[mikecane]

>>>Isn't that actually the job of the police?

What? No. Police are not investigators. They are there to arrest -- or use force -- period. They are intake and barriers, not processing.

[rbrcurtis]

I used to believe that the IT department at my work didn't need more than 10 programmers.