Editor's Desk: Newspapers become mementos

Tuesday's election was remarkable for so many reasons, the election of our first African-American president, of course, being the most prominent. But in our industry, the magnitude of the news event is often measured by the number of newspapers sold.

Metropolitan newspapers like the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune reported that on Nov. 5 morning editions were flying off the newsstands. The demand was so great that many papers restarted their presses just to accommodate those people disappointed by not having obtained a souvenir edition. A copy of the Times was even selling for $200 on eBay.

I don't...