Of course this isn't THE end of The New York Times, but it has been a particularly bad week for the paper of record. Conservatives, for one, were almost unanimous in their anger at the full-page Moveon.Org ad that appeared in the September 10 edition of the New York Times, anticipating -- sabotaging? -- perceptions of General Petraeus' testimony. And today news of weak ad sales brought the paper to its 52-week low.

Clearly things are not going to get better for newspapers in the forseable future. Although Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. graciously attended last month's swishy Diller-von Furstenberg yacht party on the occasion of Rupert Murdoch's taking over the rival Wall Street Journal, ''Pinch'' is in for a real squeeze against a media competitor who is not known for losing.

Topping things off, last week disgraced former New York Times journalist Judith Miller landed at the right-wing Manhattan Institute.