By coincidence, I just watched this lecture by David Simon on the same topic. David Simon is the creator of the TV series <i>The Wire</i> and a former print journalist.<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8E8xBXFLKE" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8E8xBXFLKE</a><p>He discusses a recurring theme on <i>The Wire</i> about the decline of a town's main newspaper, and how this results in blatant corruption going unnoticed. Simon doesn't think bloggers offer a true replacement. Personally I'm more optimistic about the Internet, but his opinion is worth your time.
Nicely written article, but no deep insights here.<p>Basically points out that older folks will suffer most from the loss of local newspapers, but that people can find another way to spread information if they need to.