The parable of the yachts

There once was a newspaper publisher who loved to cruise in his yacht. One day, the yacht, which had served him faithfully for many decades, began to sputter.
As he sat becalmed and bemused, wondering what he was going to do, a little speedboat pulled up alongside his yacht. “I see you’ve broken down,” said the captain of the speedboat. “I’d be pleased to give you a lift while you’re trying to figure out what’s wrong with your yacht.”
The newspaper publisher looked down at the tiny vessel. He recognized the speedboat as belonging to his neighbors Larry and Sergey, who had a yacht of their own, somewhere over the horizon. Theirs was larger and newer than his own, but it was a little Spartan for his taste.
The speedboat was sturdy and fast, but not nearly as luxurious the publisher’s mighty yacht. He wasn’t sure he wanted to leave its comfort for the exposed and potentially dangerous speedboat — especially since he knew that Larry and Sergey were probably living it up on their yacht at that very moment. But the yacht seemed to be riding a bit lower in the water, and maybe listing a bit to the starboard. He also realized that he hadn’t invested in his yacht in many years and it could take him a long time to get it fixed.
“How much?” asked the newspaper publisher.
“Why nothing. I’d do it for free,” said the speedboat captain, a little startled and kind of hurt.
“No, how much will you pay me?” replied the newspaper publisher.
The newspaper business is not a charitable enterprise. The newspaper industry’s problems are not Google’s fault. Get in the boat.
Originally published on my blog at JupiterResearch.