In a FORTUNE interview with Eric Schmidt of Google (Google News), he confirms what I've been saying lately. Watching mainstream news disappear would be a real "tragedy in the sense that journalism is central part of democracy."
When asked what if the newspaper industry does go down? I love Schmidt's comment:
"And if [newspapers] can't be funded because of these business problems, then that's a real loss in terms of voices and diversity. And I don't think bloggers make up the difference. The historic model of investigative journalists in any industry is something that is very fundamental."
Amen, Eric.
When asked about ideas he'd have to save newspapers: "I wish I had a brilliant idea, but I don't." As I said last month, lots of questions and few if any answers about what to do for the news industry in general, and newspapers specifically.
But even almighty Google admits their powers are limited. It raises one question: if the news industry crumbles, there will be fewer opportunities for Google to sell advertising. I believe a viable, vibrant news industry is vital to Google's future, and democracy's future.
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