Can't swat a fly with a blog page, either

Michael Kinsley on the decline and fall of the American newspaper (LA Times, May 8, 2005):

In this great country, there are newspaper editorial pages of every political stripe, from nearly insane far-left rantings to the Wall Street Journal.

But when the United States faces a danger to its most important institutions and values, Americans can count on the newspaper industry to put aside petty differences and speak with one voice.

Now is such a moment. The enemy is invisible, indeed inexplicable, but could be fatal to all we hold dear. In short: Some evil force is causing people to stop reading newspapers! Newspaper circulation figures, which had been drifting decorously downward for years, have started to plummet. At the current rate of decline, the last newspaper subscriber will hang up on a renewal phone call that interrupts dinner on Oct. 17, 2016. And then it will be over.

Happily, Kinsley has a seven-point plan to save us from this disaster. I particularly like Point Four:

Floyd Abrams, the nation's most prominent and enthusiastic 1st Amendment lawyer, must come up with a reason why canceling your newspaper subscription, or failing to renew it, is unconstitutional. C'mon, Floyd - you've kept a straight face through claims about the rights of journalists that are almost as audacious as this one. Now is your chance to go for the gold.

Read the whole thing.