Sometimes you have to take things personally

In this case, the effects of the downturn and the general distress of the newspaper industry. It's hard to know how much is one, and how much is the other, until the downturn becomes an uptick. But whatever the exact breakdown the consequence has been belt-tightening all around, including at my paper. All of us are taking a week off without pay. My week is this week.

It's obviously better than the alternative, which would be layoffs. But it's also obviously just first aid or damage control. Just as a tourniquet may stop the bleeding or flooding a magazine may keep a battleship from exploding, furloughs and layoffs are temporary measures that can't lead to long-term health.

What will do that is an open question. Until the economy turns around, though, it's really hard to tell how much the business model behind newspapers has been permanently changed. People will still be buying automobiles in the future, for example, and the current very low rate of purchase is unsustainable, but whether Ford or GM or Chrysler will be making them is questionable. Likewise, people will still be getting their news from somewhere, but which somewhere is an open question.