Adam - who's got the cash? I've been sayin' it for years: sell the Globe to Boston University. (or maybe Harvard or Emerson) Create a massive training ground for new talent AND provide a massive amount of free/cheap labor and talent. I am well aware of the quality of students' work vs. the quality of professionals, but I am also well aware that there's almost always at least a handful of students that are incredibly good; better than some longtime pros. It can be structured to all "balance out".
Would it require a large capital outlay? Yes. Aren't Universities' endowments hurting "badly"? Yes, but take it with context...Harvard's endowment is still well over $28 BILLION dollars. BU's endowment is projected to drop 30% this fiscal year...that's still in the $600 MILLION dollar range.
The Globe was just valued at a mere $20 million not a month ago. That's not exactly chump change, but it's do-able. And think of the prestige that would buy. More importantly, think about the potential for fundraising! What BU journalism alum...and there are many, many, MANY of them...wouldn't want to say that their college owned the frickin' GLOBE?!? I mean, this goes a long way towards addressing BU's perennial inferiority complex.
And it's not like BU doesn't already have a major news institution (WBUR) under its aegis and does a fine job maintaining objectivity and independence.