December 29 ,2009

Specifically: A 1995 statement by New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger asserting that "The people who created...the Internet more or less up until now are frontiers people...And behind those frontiers people are the barbarians like me.... We're their worst nightmare, but we're coming.... and we are going to push the frontiers people somewhere else because that's what happens."

Type of Lie:  A relatively benign sort. Perhaps not so much a lie as wishful thinking. 

Why It's Untrue: You may or may not have noticed, but approximately 1400 magazines that have shut down since 2007. And the newspaper industry alone has shed 45 percent of its employees since its peak in 2001. That's according to Editor & Publisher, which really, really should know--because, ahem, they are being shut down by their parent company after the January issue (though some hope remains that outsiders will come to the rescue.)

The Big But: More than 275 magazines were launched in the U.S. in 2009 with regional, health and food industry magazines leading the way.

But let's put that in context for those who fear that the demise of Fourth Estate will leave our republic bereft of investigative reporting to root out evildoers. Of those new publications, at least one goes where others fear to tread: Girls and Corpses.

Once again, the great taste of the American public has triumphed!