The New York Times is Dead

The paper that was infamous for printing an article which suggested that "God is Dead" is now in its death throes. Much of the staff may not even know this yet, but the end of the New York Times in anything like its current form is coming perhaps as soon as May. I am sympathetic toward those on the staff who will lose their jobs in this brutal looters economy, even if I disagree with them on every public issue.

That said, the Times is part of a media establishment which has done much to ruin the fabric of this nation. I react to its impending death much the same way I would react to the hanging of a vicious killer, sad for his family and that his soul will be lost to God forever, but relieved he is no longer around to destroy. Much of the secular-statist approach from the print media in this country is from local columnists who are NY Times "wannabees". They ape the hyper secular-statist views of their guiding media light. Perhaps its final end will cause some to pause and reflect on the soundness of their premises.

For those of you curious about the "God is dead" reference, it happened 42 years ago (Readers of "Life, The Universe, and Everything will recognize that 42 is the "ultimate answer to the ultimate question")about to the day. The Times gave favorable space to a strange religious ritual called "Your God is Dead" which declared in part.....

He died in the darkness of your image
He died because he grew ill from your dreams of salvation
He died because you held his hand too tightly
God is Dead

New York Times, Jan 9, 1966, pg. 146

Forty-two years of living and meditation since that time have convinced me more than ever that my God is still more alive and real than I am. It is instead the Times itself that is dead. Mark Finkelstein has the details over at News Busters. The bottom line is that they are not profitable, but have 1 billion dollars in debt that has been reduced to junk bond status. $400 hundred million of it comes due in May and the Times can't raise it by any conventional means in this climate. Most likely outcome: selling off its assets to pay off most of its debt or sale to someone like Rupert Murdoch (which would be another kind of tragedy).