How to save newspapers

In my first post I said that I worked here. Obviously I have a vested interest in the news industry, if for no other reason than my new wife and I have gotten used to having a little more disposable income now that we are married. I found this article by David Carr at The New York Times very interesting, especially his last point.

Money quote:

It’s worth remembering that the regulatory apparatus governing the industry was developed back when newspapers were the dominant local ad medium, with very little competition. In recent years, the Newspaper Preservation Act has done precisely the opposite of its framers’ intention, allowing joint operating agreements that let weak papers linger and pull down the alpha papers in Detroit, Seattle, Denver and Tucson.

The Justice Department still holds that combining local dailies is anticompetitive, but if that antiquated logic continues to prevail, there won’t be much left to regulate.