If newspapers want to survive they must act out of principle. A perfect example of this is the War on Drugs. What is so disturbing about this is the fact that there is not a single major daily newspaper that has taken a stance against the War on Drugs. Such obvious brush-overs of important stories cause the general public, who sees these atrocities being ignored by such regal institutions as the New York Times, to become quite justifiably cynical. And newspaper editors wonder why they are losing readers at such alarming rates.
Newspapers do, however, shine brightly when focused on local issues.
Local papers are uniquely positioned to cover local issues. While it might be prestigious to have three reporters covering the D.C. beat, it might not be efficacious because of the resources available to CNN and their ilk. Newspapers must offer something new to their readers. National and world issues, while important, have moved beyond what newspapers can effectively cover. The slew of cable news channels and internet news pages have taken away the ability for newspapers to be engaging in areas other than regional ones.