This question befuddles the newspaper industry right now, and newspapers are folding up (or we are seeing paper cuts) everywhere — so what’s the solution? Here’s a line from a recent CNN article:

Competition naturally breeds better journalism is the credo of many
newspaper veterans. And better journalism means an engaged and informed
public.

I beg to differ in the emphasis. While one might call it “competition,” the issue now is not the quality of journalism but what comes up at the top of a Google search. What I’d like to see the best minds at work on now is how to get the “best journalism” and the “best information” at the top of searches on the Internet.

By the way, have you seen Kosmix? I’m impressed with what I’ve seen. It’s at places like Kosmix where we need our best journalists and our best analysts and our best public commentaries.