In recent weeks, the New Haven Register cut back its freelancers to one or two articles each, per month. The alleged paper of record laid off its Capitol reporter, plus several staffers at its weekly PLAY magazine and semi-weekly Registro. A few days ago, Kevin Walsh resigned as Register publisher to parlay his trustee position at Yale?New Haven Hospital into a full-time development gig for the union-busting healing center.

Is this any way to run a newspaper? Could be, if you're trying to sell it. Thinning the staff and making the freelance budget look smaller than it is—while keeping quirky distinctions like PLAY afloat—are common tricks of the trade when you want to look attractive to prospective buyers. (The Advocate's been there, a decade ago, when our founder offered us up to the Hartford Courant.) It's kind of like going on a crash diet before you hit the dance clubs.

The financial free-fall and dwindling readership of the Journal Register Co. and its flagship Register are old news, but that doesn't mean somebody doesn't think they can turn the business around. JRC honchos won't tell The Nose a thing, but a source inside the Reg hints that no less a monolith than The New York Times Co. may be a suitor.

Imagine! "The Neediest Cases" moving to The Hill. "Our Towns" spanning the entire length of the Metro-North commute. A shorter trip to work for New Haven?based NY Times Magazine writer Jack Hitt. Maureen Dowd duking it out with Joe Amarante over who gets to cover televised presidential debates. Yale's Cross Campus appearing in the Times Crossword. Perhaps a "Journal Register Journal" feature, in keeping with "Taipei Journal" and other thrill spots.

That's not how newspaper ownership works, unfortunately—when the Times bought the Boston Globe, they largely left it as it was. But we can dream, can't we?

editor@newhavenadvocate.com