Even in a media ecosystem that throws news and entertainment into the same marketplace, the desire for quality journalism will persist in enough audience-citizens, enough privately held companies, and enough philanthropic foundations to keep at least a few serious news organizations afloat—as long as the society that they serve continues to adhere to the principle of a free press. In other words, there will always be a New York Times; there will always be a Guardian. They might not be the New York Times or the Guardian, per se, and they will always be in the minority of voices, but they’ll be there.

That, I think, is the reason the Times is still the Times, even after Jayson Blair and Carlos Slim and inane trend pieces in the Styles section and Bill Keller’s tone-deaf columns (which, thankfully, are ending).