Atlantic Writer Says to NYT Print Edition DNR

In early January, Atlantic writer, Michael Hirschorn, wrote that the New York Times was battling to stay afloat. While he conjectured that David Geffen, Michael Bloomberg, Carlos Slim or Rupert Murdoch had the ability to throw the paper a lifeline, Hirschorn doubted that anyone, after seeing Sam Zell's invest in the now bankrupt Tribune Company, would take such a risk. In the end, he determined that the print version of the New York Times was on its death bed: "The Times is destined for significant and traumatic change. At some point soon—sooner than most of us think—the print edition, and with it The Times as we know it, will no longer exist. "

Moreover, Hirschorn while expressing some regret over ending the ritual of gathering one's paper off the stoop and measured sympathy for the journalists-- who have, until now, lived semi-charmed kinds of lives of the mind"--he views the transformation from print to digital-only distribution as hardly tragic. After all but the most talented writers have been laid off the new reporters/bloggers will see more traffic to their stories. He envisions this new nytimes.com as "a bigger, better, and less partisan version of the Huffington Post,"

Unsurprisingly, The New York Times publishers refuted Hirschorn's predictions, saying "With regard to the specific point made about the demise of the print edition of The Times in May, it may make for a good a story but it is poor analysis. " Since Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications' Catherine Mathis' response on January 12, The NYT has found its Superman, selling $250 Million worth of stocks to Carlos Slim, a Mexican billionaire. Slim, the owner of a telecommunications company is allegedly the 2nd richest man in the world! So what does this mean for the paper. Should we be worried that despite that stories of kidnappings and murders, Mexico might be suddenly be whitewashed from the paper's pages. Perhaps not. According to findingDulcinea, "Despite becoming one of the largest single shareholders in the company, Slim will not get representation on the Times’ board and would have no special voting rights."

Let's hope not. As publishers and journalists alike shoulder the blow of the recession, what other last resort solutions will have to happen for print journals to stick around?