Dear Readers of the Sun:I'll admit that the only thing I routinely read in the Sun is Tim Marchman's column, and that's because he's about the best there is. As such, I'd be lying if I said that the paper going out of business is a sad thing for me because, hey, that's what papers do.
This morning I write to you about the future of The New York Sun, which is in circumstances that may require us to cease publication at the end of September unless we succeed in our efforts to find additional financial backing. The managing editor, Ira Stoll, who is one of the founding partners in the paper, and I have shared this news with our colleagues, and we would like our readers as well to be aware of the situation.
Our losses, which are substantial, have been covered so far by a group of investors
whom we would call heroic. And they are prepared to continue to back the enterprise with new capital. But as costs rise and the advertising market for newspapers generally tightens, keeping the Sun alive and moving it toward self-sufficiency will require broadening the base of investors beyond the original group.
The real issue here is what media outlet is going to be smart enough to hire Marchman. ESPN? Yahoo!? The Times? You're all on notice that the best young baseball writer working today is very likely to be a free agent soon, and as of now, you all have a shot at him.
2 comments:
The Sun's cultural coverage--of books in particular--is extremely good, and it'll be missed if it goes away. It's similar to Marchman's writing: way above the pack both in terms of the intelligence on display and the intelligence presumed on the part of the reader.
Why not The New Yorker? Roger Angell can groom Marchman to be his replacement.
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