“The illustration above appeared on the cover of the August 24, 2006 edition of The Economist. The subhead was ‘The most useful bit of the media is disappearing. A cause for concern, but not for panic.’ The article is essentially optimistic. A key paragraph states: ‘The usefulness of the press goes much wider than investigating abuses or even spreading general news; it lies in holding governments to account-trying them in the court of public opinion. The Internet has expanded this court. Anyone looking for information has never been better equipped. People no longer have to trust a handful of national papers or, worse, their local city paper. News-aggregation sites such as Google News draw together sources from around the world. The website of Britain’s Guardian now has nearly half as many readers in America as it does at home.'”

We believe newspapers are a bedrock of a free, democratic society. For that reason, these articles (some are long reads, but maybe you’re indoors staying warm today?

• “Newspapers cost more than twice as much today as they did a decade ago (and that was a smart move by publishers)”
• “The Crisis Facing American Journalism Did Not Start With the Internet”
• “Cancel in protest? Or stay with a local newspaper that’s being strip-mined for profits?”
• “Hot potato, hot potato: Alden Global Capital now reportedly wants to offload Digital First Media on Gannett“