Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the dilettante scion of a fading newspaper-family dynasty, obediently showed up to announce a trial in which his company will subsidize the $489 retail price of a Kindle DX for readers who sign up for a long-term subscription to the Times or the Boston Globe — assuming the latter is still publishing, since he's threatened to close it down.

The Kindle DX is a fair-looking device — homely in the way that every gadget not made by Apple inevitably is, but passably designed. But will it save newspapers? No. And Bezos is hedging his bets, even as he has managed to scare the press lords into shelling out their precious remaining cash into funding the distribution of his pricey e-reader. Today, he hawked the Kindle DX as a means for reading textbooks, sheet music, novels, and science journals. Newspapers are just one checkbox in a long list of features — and yet he's cajoled the gullible likes of Sulzberger into handing him a pile of cash.

And it's not like Amazon needs the money. It's a steady cash generator — especially for Bezos himself. On Friday, he sold $63 million in Amazon shares. On Monday, as news of the Kindle leaked, he sold another $16 million. If he's such a big believer in supporting journalism, why didn't Bezos announce he was personally giving away 160,000 Kindles to people who agreed to sign up for a newspaper subscription? He could afford it.

(Photo by Gizmodo)

Digg recently inked a $100 million, multiyear ad deal with Microsoft. On those revenues alone, Digg's acquirers could easily justify a $300 million to $400 million purchase price; if Microsoft is paying about $30 million a year for Digg's banner-ad inventory, paying that price would mean a modest 10x to 13x multiple on revenues.

So who is it? A source rules out all the big Internet players — not Microsoft, not Google, not Yahoo. CBS, a big Web acquirer of late, has taken itself out of the running. So who could it be?

Two possibilities: The New York Times Co. and the Washington Post Co. Both the Times' Arthur Sulzberger and the Post's Donald Graham are big believers in a digital future. And both can see firsthand how much traffic Digg contributes to their websites. If I were to place a bet on those two? I'd say the Post, which already owns Slate and has close dealings with Microsoft; Digg's Microsoft ad deal would not discomfit Graham the way it might other businessmen. The Post also has a stronger balance sheet, with a market cap four times the Times'.

That's pure speculation, of course. Acquisition talks fall apart all the time — and for Digg, especially, with its history of almost-but-not-quite deals, I wouldn't be surprised if nothing came of this latest rumor. Still, it's telling that the Valley's talk about Digg has changed from scoffing at its overinflated valuation to talking about who's willing to meet Digg's terms.

Digg CEO Jay Adelson gave me the standard noncomment about "rumors and speculation." But given his transcontinental commute from New York to San Francisco, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd be glad to put his company up for sale. For founder Kevin Rose, a sale would be more emotional. He'd have to be comfortable with whoever buys the company, since he'd likely stay involved. His Diggnation podcast, which draws on headlines from Digg, is one of the centerpieces of his other startup, Revision3. Digg's contentious audience, too, might not take to the site's new owners. That's the biggest obstacle, I suspect, to any deal happening. Those who would profit from the wisdom of crowds must contend with their madness, too.

(Photo by briancaldwell)