If you’re like me, you read all the media analysts and prognosticators, madly trying to gain an understanding of where things are, what the opportunities are, what is the future of our industry? Some of them are quite good, and especially so when it comes to the metrics of readership and revenue. If you’re going to stay on top of things, you need these people.

But as a union activist, I’m painfully aware of what’s not being measured or talked about, at least not by the majority of folks making decisions. Very few of them are talking about the quality of the news product. What you hear instead is a chorus of, “We can do more with less.”

That’s the Big Lie in today’s news business. When workers are treated as a commodity, when their jobs are slashed or outsourced because someone, somewhere, can do it cheaper, quality suffers.

I remember when the esprit de corps of a news operation was its heart and soul. I believe it still is, it’s just that news “executives” refuse to see it. The folks who care about quality and the craft (us) have always been the creative force of the media industry, whether in news or sales.

What we have now is a race to the bottom and, ultimately, the extinction of most of the news organizations I grew up with.

Don’t talk to me about “creative destruction,” a conservative principle that says the current industry must die. Tragically some very good, progressive thinkers have bought into this. I think it’s really just a way to be comfortable doing nothing (or very little) about the current situation.

Then there are the “digital first’ers.” Like everyone else, they know the future is digital, but they use this new slogan as an excuse to destroy anything traditional, no matter how much value it still has.

I get it. The driving force is what it’s always been — profit. But I don’t think the business-class bureaucrats and accountants will save this industry or build the future.

The future lies where it always has: great journalists chasing important stories, telling you things you need and want to know.

Our members represent the professional eco system of the news business, from those who assemble and distribute news to those who bring in revenue to support the operation. The vitality and experience they bring to their jobs can’t be outsourced or replaced on the cheap. But owners keep trying.

Which is why the recent news in Portland, Maine, is so exciting. In journalism parlance, it’s a “Man Bites Dog” kind of story. Instead of the typical “chainsaw capitalism” employed by so many media companies today, a new investor is putting the importance of the workforce front and center. The deal, which the Guild set in motion, will continue the employee ownership program and maintain union seats on the company’s board. The new owner is even talking about new investment — a jaw-dropper in the current climate of radical austerity.

Also, not surprisingly, it is the folks who care about the product (us) who are fighting to ensure that ethics and editorial integrity are maintained, regardless of ownership.

The web has created some “fuzzy” standards, which is why I wrote about the TechCrunch situation in the last edition of the Guild Reporter (find it online at NewsGuild.org). Can those in control of news coverage also directly invest in those they cover? The original creator of TechCrunch said yes, and Arianna Huffington and AOL said no.

In Portland it was the Guild (us, a.ka. the ones who care) that pushed for clarity from the new owner, seeking assurances that his personal politics won’t skew news coverage. Very publicly, he has promised that he won’t get involved in those decisions. In Philly, the Guild is fighting for the same principles as their city’s newspapers and news website go up for sale. The Guild already has exposed incidents of tilted coverage – changes made without reporters’ knowledge in stories about the investors who want to buy the company.

And here’s a footnote for the “bash the liberal media” crowd: The buyer in Portland and the potential buyer in Philadelphia are Democrats. Guild members don’t want liberal politics influencing news coverage any more than they want any politics to play a role.

I am convinced that news organizations that include their workers in decision-making and ownership are the ones that will survive and thrive, digitally and otherwise.

We can pretend to live in this “brave new world” where all the rules are being rewritten. But the fact is that people will seek out quality and truth, the way they always have.

Disposable workers and aggregated “junk-food” news that readers can find anywhere may work in the short term. But it’s folks who genuinely care (us, again) who hold the keys to future success.

If they’re smart, more investors will follow the lead of Portland’s new owner and come knocking at our doors.