Hey, Zeke: while I understand your animosity toward the paper itself, what you're cheering for right now is not the downfall of the O but rather the sudden job loss of a lot of good people who've been hanging on for many years and hoping that things get better. I no longer work for the O but I know a lot of good people who do, or at least did until now, and the thought of you cackling over their misfortune as they try to figure out how to feed their families from here on out is disturbing. Maybe you need to take a good look at yourself.

To the last commenter: Well Zeke, I am sure you wouldn't be celebrating if you just lost your family's main means of income. Whether you like the Oregonian or not, only a heartless shit would take delight in people losing their jobs in this horrible economy.

While it is fun and often justified to tweak The O for its weaknesses, blindspots, and failures (Goldschmidt's "affair", anyone?), its diminishment is nothing to cheer about. Not just for the loss of good paying jobs, but also because of the hollowing out of journalism in these parts. The newspaper business is an odd duck, in which profit-making businesses provide a valuable and crucial public service--keeping citizens informed of news, events, and issues that impact their lives. Bloggers can fill some holes in coverage, but unless they have other means of support, they cannot accomplish what a salaried reporter does consistently day in and day out. And you'll note that with some exceptions, most bloggers do not do their own original reporting--calling sources, searching databases, pounding the pavement--but simply comment or elaborate on articles taken from . . . newspapers, magazines, and other traditional media.

Journalism may look easy from the outside. And while granted, it's not neurosurgery, as one who has published a local newsletter, I can tell you publishing ONE timely, well-written, fact-checked, reasonably objective piece of news on deadline takes time, effort, and patience; imagine publishing tens or hundreds of those articles every day of the year for over 100 years, as The Oregonian has.

The traditional media is shrinking and talented writers are leaving the field. Willamette Week recently reported how many of those writers locally (including some of WWeek's own staff) have sought and secured jobs as PR flacks for local government agencies. Presumably they'll take some of their integrity and journalistic principles with them, but the fact remains that they are mouthpieces for politicians and bureaucracies, and they are not exactly about to watchdog the folks who give them paychecks with the same alacrity as they did when they were on the outside.

The business model of The Oregonian and other large media organizations may not fit the Internet age, and they certainly deserve some of the blame for refusing to adapt to changing times until it was too late. But the free flow of information is essential for a vibrant democracy and economy, and no one who cares for either or both should cheer the weakening of The Oregonian, let alone dancing on its grave.

Kelly, Brian, and Davey: Stand by, I'll dial BOEC and request a whaaaambulance for you.

@Joe— Was that part of this same layoff yesterday, or another one recently? Any info send to cpein@wweek.com.

Why no, BBB. Retired with a very decent income, and both houses paid for, thank you very much. 

And watch who you're calling a putz, schmuck. "Lech teez dayan, benz ona."