We are like unto the oyster, and irritation shall bring forth pearls

The New York Times reported Friday that CanWest Global is now The New Republic's majority shareholder, and in light of plunging readership and revenue, they're rethinking their operation. Starting in a couple of weeks, they're going to publish biweekly and go to a heavier paper stock with more graphic elements.

Yeah, yeah, same tune, different verse. Wake up and smell the circling buzzards, print industry. The New Republic is essentially screwed unless they can figure out a way to get online, fast, and a way to finance their online operations sufficient to feed a high level of journalism.

I guess the good news is that they know it. As Martin Peretz, the editor-in-chief puts it,

"The print publication cannot keep up with the news,” Mr. Peretz said. So actual news will go up on the Web site, which now has five employees, up from two a year ago, while the longer production cycle for the print magazine will give writers more time for reporting.

But by far the best part of that article is the following information:

To that end, Mr. Peretz has become a blogger. "He said he was “not enjoying it exactly,” but that he had found it addictive.

“When I used to see something irritating, I would typically call a friend,” he said. “Now I just go to the blog.”

There's hope for TNR yet.