Romenesko

BusinessWeek
In 1990, then San Jose Mercury News executive editor Robert Ingle pitched the idea of an online service aimed at "extending the life and preserving the franchise of the newspaper." He says now: "I saw the Internet as a great opportunity, but also as a great threat." Former Merc reporter Steve Hamm says if Ingle's proposals had been enthusiastically embraced by Knight Ridder's 28 dailies, perhaps the fate of the chain might have been different. || ALSO: Dean Singleton is an emerging leader in the fight to save newspapers.