Said Philip Meyer, Knight Chair in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:

"Things are so bad in the newspaper business today that I am inclined to root for all sorts of radical experiments that I would have opposed before. The industry has been too cautious in the past and needs to increase its rate of risk-taking. Citizen journalism might not work out, but it is worth trying."

If only it didn't take loss of market share and drastic budget cutting to make this industry less risk averse. But it does.

Too often we assume that everyone in the newspaper understands its slow march toward bankruptcy. But the truth is reporters and editors need constant reminding that things aren't going well financially.

The most powerful reminders come in the form of regular reports on circulation, revenue and revenue goals. Newspapers need more transparency in financial reporting if they truly want the people in the newsroom to wake up, and fast.

I've heard many a journalist complain that they already realize things aren't going well. Telling them over and over doesn't help, they claim. But I disagree. Remind them until they do something about it.