This morning (Jan. 26) the Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement about the likely sale of Knight Ridder, owner of 32 dailies including the San Jose Mercury News, Palo Alto Daily News and Contra Costa Times. “A national conversation about how Knight Ridder newspapers can maintain their journalistic integrity under escalating profit pressures should send a message to investors not to ignore the social value of their investments,” SPJ said. In an accompanying second statement, SPJ’s Northern California chapter describes what could happen if the company is sold: “…[I]f Dean Singleton’s MediaNews Group were to purchase Knight Ridder, he would add the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times — the region’s second- and third-largest papers — to his existing archipelago of Bay Area titles, including the Oakland Tribune and 10 smaller papers. That would give MediaNews control of most of the daily newspaper circulation in the Bay Area not already controlled by the chain-owned San Francisco Chronicle.” So where do we go from here? SPJ also offers some initiatives worthy of discussion.