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This article examines the state of newspapers and ways in which they can maintain their relevance into the future. The internet dramatically disrupted newspapers traditional market domination of news. The author suggests that papers fall back on things the internet does not provide such as investigative reporting. He contends that readers still need someone to put information into context and bring meaning to it. Trust and influence within the community is a good newspaper's most valuable asset.

This article presents the viewpoint of a former journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He believes the paper is in midst of a long, slow decline in quality and asserts many others feel the same way, but he can not exactly explain why or how. He believes corporate ownership is only concerned with profit and not journalism.

Discusses the division in the media between news and commerce. The example of 'The Los Angeles Times' and Chairman Mark Willes' destruction of that division; The difficulty in maintaining journalistic ethics when the reporter is concerned with how news coverage will effect the paper's profits; How journalism can succeed only when it is profitable, but it is most suspect when it seeks a profit at all costs.

The article discusses journalism, newspapers, and declines associated with competition from free web-based news. It notes the importance of listening to the message that consumers are sending regarding their tastes and desires for news. It refers to the paper on sustaining journalism by Leonard Downie, Jr. and Michael Schudson elsewhere in the issue.

The article discusses the lack of audience loyalty to particular news web sites. It notes that news web sites present as-yet unexploited opportunities for journalism. It mentions a lack of embedded hyperlinks and social networking features. The authors notes recommendations for improvements. The article refers to the paper on sustaining journalism by Leonard Downie, Jr. and Michael Schudson elsewhere in the issue.

This article presents the author's perspective on the economic difficulties and subsequent layoff at many American newspapers. He objects to how the corporate entities that own the newspapers attempt to frame the cutbacks. They try to make the reductions seem like an opportunity for the papers to do more. The author recognizes the economic realities but finds the propaganda insulting.

The author offers opinions on journalism's ability to accurately report its own business. He finds it almost nonexistent. Alternative newspapers, much like daily newspapers, have become consolidated in large chains, reducing the amount of local content in each publication. The "St. Louis Post-Dispatch," the city's only daily, abolished its reader advocate a decade ago, leaving its customers with no check on what the paper chooses to state about itself.