Although a rumor that Newspaper Guild president Liz Brown sent an email to guild members warning that the Seattle Times is about to declare bankruptcy appears to be untrue, the rumors that a bankruptcy is imminent continue to swirl. A woman who answered the phone at Brown's office said she hadn't sent an email to that effect but acknowledged that "everyone is worried, obviously"; meanwhile, Times spokeswoman Jill Mackie responded to an email I sent to executive editor David Boardman with an odd nondenial denial:

Erica, Dave forwarded your question to me. I do not know on what basis Liz raised this as a possibility. That said, the actions we take or planning we engage in are aimed at preserving The Seattle Times and as many jobs as possible into the future. Hearst's recent surprise announcement is a reflection of the economic reality that in today's economy it is a struggle for even a single newspaper to be profitable and impossible for multiple papers in a single market. A timely end to the JOA gives The Seattle Times the best opportunity to be viable long term, but short term weathering this recession will still be a significant challenge. We will explore all options that will allow us to get through this very tough time and preserve jobs and content.

Jill

On some recent Mondays and Tuesdays, the Seattle Times has had as little as three pages of ads, total—including classifieds. Even at $27,000 a half-page, that's hardly enough to keep a newspaper the size of the Times afloat.