A newspaper purchased in 1998 for $1.2 billion has just been sold for $530 million. Noting that the paper, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, lost over half its value in less than a decade, a Goldman Sachs analyst commented that the “valuation is a bearish signal for the newspaper industry.” No kidding.

Perhaps one of the problems with the Star-Tribune is the caliber of the columnists in the paper’s employ...and the quality of the writers who come to their defense.