Things are cyclical in the media business as they are in every other business. But when print was king you would never have seen the type of mass exodus of high-profile talent from the New York Times that it’s experienced in recent weeks. Because the Times isn’t part of a gigantic multi-platform corporation or flush with new-media cash, it’s at a decided disadvantage in fending off challengers for its best writers, reporters and thinkers. Just compare the financials of the Sulzberger-run company to, say, ESPN, which poached Nate Silver because it could offer him any amount of money it felt like and all the outlets he desires for his numbers. That’s not to say the Times isn’t still excellent and can’t attract more talent, but it will be difficult to maintain morale and quality if the bleeding continues.

Reading news stories about the departures yesterday, I thought that the Times itself will likely have to eventually “leave” the Times. I mean that the company will ultimately have to abandon the independence it’s always enjoyed and become another piece in a multimedia behemoth. I don’t see any other answer, though I’d like to be wrong.•