Google in talks to help save The New York Times

Google (GOOG) has money. The New York Times Co. (NYT) needs it. And Google needs The New York Times. According to the media columnist Howard Kurtz, executives from these two companies -- as well as from his own Washington Post (WPO) -- have been holding talks about how they might work together to align their interests and bolster revenue for the papers whose stories fuel much of the world's daily web browsing (and ad viewing).

It is probably no coincidence that this comes at the same time News Corp. (NWS) is floating the idea of micropayments for access to Wall Street Journal stories online to generate income. Somehow, some way, the reporters who do the footwork and write the seminal stories that are subsequently regurgitated throughout the mediasphere need to be paid. Advertising doesn't seem to be producing the bucks needed to feed the kitty. So either those who rely on the content figure out a solution or risk having one imposed on them.