There's a problem with that transition, though. While professional journalists are held to certain ethical standards, those same guidelines don't exist in the blogosphere. And our citysiders already have issues getting information from local governments; I can't see their level of helpfulness improving when they start getting those requests from Joe Q. Public, instead of the paper of record. 'Citizen journalists' obviously have a place in the future of newsgathering, but I do not look forward to a day when watchdog duties are left in their hands because the 'traditional media' has gone out of business.
Bailouts? No, although it would be nice for all my friends in the business who have been laid off in the last year. (Another one yesterday, in fact.) But wait ... even if they did give corporations money, it wouldn't trickle down to the actual newsrooms anyway. Gannett started hacking and slashing to try to maintain their double-digit profit margins long before the bottom fell out of the advertising market.
And don't forget, it's not just newspapers. Channel 2 consumer/investigative reporter Mike Igoe is cleaning out his desk this week, because his age/seniority made him an attractive candidate for a buyout. (Was it voluntary? He's saying the right things in public, but I have my doubts.) Will Gannett -- there's that evil word again -- replace him? If they do, it certainly won't be someone with the knowledge and connections he brought to the job. It doesn't serve their viewers, but hey, it's good for the bottom line ... and CEO Craig Dubow can continue collecting his multimillion-dollar salary while Rome burns around him.