My tenure as ombudsman is coming to an end, and this will be my last column. It’s customary in such situations to issue solemn benedictions, complete with personal assessments, admonitions, even premonitions — with an obligatory ending flourish of optimism. If that sounds like a mouthful, it is; I’ll try to make it simple, and start off with that last element.

What, you may ask, is there to be optimistic about in the realm of newspapers? Everywhere, they are suffering. The largest and most prestigious among them are shedding profits, people and readers. Some are shutting down.

Another shoe dropped last month on the ASY episode. You remember the case (or maybe you don’t): A probe was launched last year into allegations that funds were shifted improperly through Stars and Stripes for the benefit of a Department of Defense undertaking called America Supports You. More precisely, the undertaking was that of American Forces Information Service (AFIS), until recently the parent organization of Stripes. ASY’s original mission was to make it known to the troops fighting in the Middle East that America was behind them.