Carrol, think of this daily as a more presentable form of lbo-talk. In the lists, you're promiscuously "united" with us and yet still being yourself. And tfast is giving you a weekly column already, where you could set out to demonstrate why the existence of the paper is impossible.
E-zine, or rather e-daily, vs. dead-tree daily may be a false choice. The NYT, the WP, etc. -- perhaps clumsily from a sheer technological point of view -- are moving in the direction of integrating several NYT formats, each with its own personality: deadtree, online, something like TV (there's something like a youtube or Google Video included in the online format of the NYT), etc. La Jornada, for example, is experimenting with TV reporting online. They call it "La otra tele."
Chuck wrote that "Distribution costs are what keep new publications from challenging existing newspapers. You've got to fight for rack space in bookstores and newstands." Okay, so we need serious money to carry the overhead during the first year of publication. But, couldn't we get around the distribution problem by going Metro? Metro, a free (ad-funded) daily published in NYC and other metro areas, has its own little racks outside subway stations, etc. I don't mean making it free, but making it cheap and perhaps distributing it through some alternative channel.
Another example: In Mexico, Reforma was sabotaged by Carlos Salinas when it was first published in the 1980s. Salinas, through the PRI controlled the union of the organization that distributed newspapers and magazines. Reforma created its own personnel (paid on commission).
Also from Chuck's information-rich posting: "I think the numbers are there, but I think the culture of the left needs to change." Is that it? Then it's more feasible than I thought. We are the left. We can change our culture, can't we? A bit of mutual tolerance (it's hard, I know) will go a long way.
Joanna wrote that the daily "would have political articles....but it would also be full of life stuff: parenting; tenant rights, recipies, health advice, sports, movie reviews, etc." Absolutely! Cartoons too. I'd suggest integrating the Funny Times into this newspaper altogether. We would acquire the Funny Times or get content from them -- we'd make them an offer they couldn't refuse. The Sunday issue of the LBO-Talk Journal would be a blast.
On tim's comment, I believe the Taz is a co-op, somewhat similar to La Jornada. One of my neighbors (I live in a co-op in Brooklyn) is one of the social engineers that keeps the Park Slope Food Coop running. We'd recruit her. She'd keep our operations smooth and our finances disciplined.
Chuck again: "On the on hand, there is Democracy Now, which is a wildly popular left media project which is heard on dozens of radio stations." I'm sure I'm wrong on this, but I envision this daily resulting from some sort of synthesis or remix of what already exists.
And the baby doesn't have to kill its parents -- it can be leveraged from them, but then keep a separate identity, because it'd feel a different niche/need.
Possible, it is. The more philosophical question here, the way I see it, is whether or not -- in this day and age -- a daily newspaper (with some online and dead-tree existence), distributed nationally, is *necessary*. Aren't readers already meeting that need somehow through all the existing channels, including what's on the net with its mushrooming of outlets. (I, for example, use the lists, to some extent, as my news filter. If the link or some note makes it to the lists, then it's probably newsworthy.) If so, wouldn't the task be instead to give some structure to what already exists out there, to enforce some factual discipline and editorial quality in its content?
And I'm totally with Chuck (how many Chucks do we have on lbo-talk?) as to the importance of the look-and-feel of the newspaper. I like the Funny Times a lot (as you know already), but I hate its horrible format and physical feel. After I finish reading it, I have to wash the ink off my hands. Same with the Village Voice (I can't miss the cartoons or Savage, the sex columnist. I don't like the female columnists as much, because they tend to plug commercial stuff disguised as alternative). Physically, reading the Village Voice is an experience akin to cleaning your bike after you used it in muddy terrain. I like Metro's format and wouldn't mind getting some inspiration from its look and feel.
Julio
PS: By the way, how does the Onion make it?