I love the idea set forth in this Huffington Post blog post by Josh Stephens: He promises to give subscriptions as gifts this year as a way of supporting the journalism profession. Everyone’s always decrying the state of journalism — note the irony that this idea is proposed on HuffPo, the biggest offender in the “let’s pay writers in exposure, not money” business. So why not do at least a little toward helping to keep journalism alive and paid? I’d add books to the mix, too. Instead of, or at least in addition to, bitching about the state of publishing, let’s support it as much as possible. I think both businesses will find new ways to survive, but there’s no reason we can’t help a little, while giving great gifts along the way.