As the newspaper industry continues to crumble all around us, as papers continue to slash staff and/or close down entirely, the burning question remains: During the time it takes to create a new sustainable model, who will cover your community, your local government, the people that fall between the cracks of society, the agencies and institutions that form the fabric of your world? I'm not big on blind faith. Citizen journalism, like blogs, will (and should be) part of the new media landscape, but neither of them is a replacement, for obvious reasons. So in the meantime, as I discussed here, what's wrong with a government bailout as a stopgap solution? Rosa Brooks, in her final article for the Los Angeles Times, offers a compelling rationale:
If we're willing to use taxpayer money to build roads, pay teachers and maintain a military; if we're willing to bail out banks and ...
