COMMENTARY
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The Bell Tolls for Journos
Explosion of web content and staff cuts marks the end of an era
By Kristina Loew
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Posted Dec 12, 08 9:32 AM CST
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(Newser)
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With the flurry of firings and buyouts at the nation’s newspapers, "it certainly feels like the end of days," writes Julia Klein in Obit. But while much has been made of lofty topics such as "the fate of democracy" and "journalism's core civic and watchdog functions, not much attention has been paid to those whose jobs face extinction," she notes.
The quality of content and those who provide it has suffered while papers slash their staff by half and try to do more with less. Klein blames leaders who failed to recognized the economic threat of the Internet. "So now newspapers are going the way of dinosaurs, and the search is on for a new model that will preserve newsgathering," she writes. "But its advent will not save most of us, and the way of life that we cherished will find its final resting place in museums."