John McIntyre, the Baltimore Sun’s assistant managing editor for the copy desk, says the suggestion by MediaNews President Jody Lodovic that some newspapers don’t need copy editors “makes sense if the goal is what Philip Meyer describes in ‘The Vanishing Newspaper’ as ‘harvesting the assets.’ In brief, one reason for the decline of newspaper circulation is that older readers are dying without being replaced by younger ones. Since no growth is foreseen, cheapen the product to wring out the profits. The dwindling number of readers still on this side of the ground will continue to read; they have the habit, and there is no substitute. Eventually the business will collapse, but only after the current owners have taken the money and gone elsewhere. In such an environment, copy editors are a frill easily to be dispensed with.”