Thou Shalt Have No Other Editors Before Me

In Slate, Stephen Bates attempts to explain “Why the press should declare itself a religion:”

Now that newspapers have stopped generating profits, some folks want to transform them into tax-deductible outfits that chase after donations. Writing in the New York Times, David Swensen and Michael Schmidt of Yale propose the university as the model for a nonprofit press. Others, such as media entrepreneur Steven Brill, recommend that newspapers charge a small fee for online content.

If the press really wants to secure its future, here’s a modest proposal: It ought to declare itself a religion. The tax benefits, as the accountants say, would be substantial—and there would be other advantages, too.

But gosh, whom would the press choose as their God?

Update: He’s a remarkably Old Testament God, based on his supplicants’ intense fear of smiting.