Cancelled on 25th, 31st and Jan 1st. Maybe The Arizona Republic is sickening. Is this the thin edge of the wedge? Hedge fund vultures are circling overhead, eyeing the few journalistic assets of a once thriving newspaper. Are they preparing to strip the corpse? We readers are "advertised" to death. The internet overheats with electronic offers for cheap access but the competition is fierce. Meanwhile senior management looks more carefully at the provisions of their pension plans, reporters scan the diminishing employment prospects and workers glance over their shoulders and wonder about the future. The picture looks bleak. Costs are rising - paper, ink and aging printing presses are not cheap. Accountants scratch their already shaking heads trying to look for a way to make the bottom line look better. Employees huddle in corners, whispering to friends they trust. If the paper is to survive, it needs innovative thinking, a new business model and new ways to finance high journalistic standards. Without a strong Arizona Republic we will all be in the dark. Examples are out there. The Guardian is run by an independent trust which ensures its viability and independence. It can be done.