Think about literacy rates, total metro populations, “minority” demographic growth, languages spoken, AND technological trends. How can a daily, one-size-fits-all “fish-wrapper” serve a population as diverse and large as those found in a major U.S. city? Perhaps in Pleasantville but not here!

With technology, the target demo is equal to 1 and content is driven by the individual reader not by the editorial staff. I have said it before but love repeating that I’m a red-blooded capitalist who is a communist when it comes to public information. Long live the proletariat!

I certainly don’t disagree with claims that Craigslist did a real number on newspapers, I just think that in many ways, newspapers actually became less accessible in the last half-century or so thanks to our transportation habits, and that put the industry in an even worse position once Craigslist came along and sapped all that revenue away.

Ditto what LA wrote about Craigslist.

If you are interested in the UK context (where corner newsagents still thrive, although they also sell cigarettes and whatnot), check out Roy Greenslade’s online column in the Guardian. Also see what Lebedev did to the London Evening Standard (took it free). There has been a bit of a freesheet war in Central London over the past few years. I’ve lived in rural England and central London. In both places people seem to use corner shops / newsagents.

All that being said, if I could get a Sunday NY Times delivered to my Decatur house with pastries and a carafe of hot coffee, I would reconsider a home newspaper subscription.

You would think some local entrepreneur would start something like that.