On the Job: End of an era

TONIGHT, WHEN we put our paper to bed, an era ends. The feature department disappears, and much else as well. It's a sad day, indeed. I'd like to say that it signals a new beginning, but that is not the case. We are in an unstoppable slide into oblivion. The newspaper, if you can call it that, is on life support, and at some point some committee far away is going to pull the plug. We had a good run, but competition from the Internet, a saturated market and some ill-considered decisions put a stake through our heart. As for me, I have little room to complain, my job changes, and not for the better, but other friends will have no job at all. To rework a recent movie title: "We Were Journalists Once and Competent."