Somewhat OT: Times Co. threatens to shutter Boston Globe.

[Maureen Carney]

Is it possible that the Globe may become a free paper, like the Phoenix or Metro? I ask because it seems that advertisers like circulation numbers no matter how they get them. Raising the cost per edition or going web only will cut numbers down. It's like why NESN and CSN are on basic instead of a sports tier that costs extra - they can claim a million subscribers instead of a fraction of that, even if not everyone watches.