Ownership matters. It's the most critical aspect of any news org. It's why the journalists & readers of the Washington Post are in revolt. And why the Guardian & Observer's are too.

This week sees the start of the first strike at the org for half a century.

My friend warned me about those 'small moments' that cascade down the years. And that's what the sale of the Observer feels like to the journalists who work at the Guardian & Observer: a warning, a threat, a bellwether of what's to come. The erosion of the independent press. Oligarchic capture.