Say "bye-bye" to the Boston Globe?

Holy moly!

Is this an idle threat, or will the New York Times Co. really shut down the Boston Globe?

The New York Times Co. has threatened to shut the Boston Globe unless the newspaper's unions swiftly agree to $20 million in concessions, union leaders said. (Boston.com)

Well one thing they can stop is paying their correspondents so much. As a past beneficiary of their largesse, I can testify that the Globe/NY Times Co. pays mucho dinero.

The possible concessions include pay cuts, the end of pension contributions by the company and the elimination of lifetime job guarantees now enjoyed by some veteran employees, said Daniel Totten, president of the Boston Newspaper Guild, the Globe's biggest union, which represents more than 700 editorial, advertising and business office employees.

Lifetime job guarantees? Well that explains a lot.

It's time that big old newspapers come into the real world ... and shed old-school journalism in a time when, good or bad, reality TV and high emotion is all the rage.

Good luck to the Globe.