Bogus Gold

Wow.

We all knew it was coming. But the reality of the Star Tribune filing for Chapter 11 is still a little stunning. It's not one of those minor "my, how things change" moments. It's smack upside the head with the "future is NOW" stick.

A few random thoughts about it:

• This isn't good news. I think our community is better served by having a profitable organization dedicated to putting in the hard work of reporting on more than just a volunteer, "when they feel like it" basis. There is certainly a new electronic age of journalism emerging. But it's not yet mature enough to replace the brick and mortar journalism of a local newspaper, however you spin it.



• This isn't entirely bad news either. The model was broken. No one was fixing it, just re-arranging and trying to milk profits where they could. No more of that. This is the first serious step in forming a realistic future for the Star Tribune (or whatever replaces them) in the new media age.



• The Star Tribune's web implementation, kludgy and frustrating as it often is, kicks the ass of most other old media efforts in that area. That's a good beginning.



• I really don't feel a lot of satisfaction here despite my lovable spats with many of the Star Tribunes more glaringly biased columnists and reporters in the past. I call attention to that stuff to shame the writers and rebut the arguments. I certainly wasn't hoping to see those people fired and thrown out on the street. There's a human element here that just ... sucks.



• Welcome to the future. It's on right now in the Twin Cities media market. However the Strib emerges from chapter 11, it won't be as a traditional newspaper the way you remember... because it's going to have to show how to turn a profit, and the old way can't do that any more. I'm hoping they recognize James Lileks as one of the key people within their organization to lead them into the new electronic age... in a way that doesn't abandon the past altogether. Wish I could say I had more than hopes to back that up.



• No guarantee the Strib will survive this at all, of course. It's hardly a sure thing. If not are we ready to be a "half a newspaper" town? (I refuse to concede that the Pioneer Press in current form is even trying to fulfill the entire role of a major metropolitan newspaper. I'll only credit them with half.)



• Word to the hard negotiating newspaper workers union: You lose. Start coping.