The importance of newspapers in the brave new world is that with all of this fragmentation of information, the newspaper is almost the last common ground that tries to talk to people across the landscape, regardless where they live, their jobs, income levels or ethnic backgrounds. The newspaper goes to everyone. It also, I think, is going to end up being very important as the civic glue that keeps the community together. It is a common basis for conversations about communities, cities and states. A newspaper, for all its frailties, still does those chores better, talking about issues of local importance in a way that none of these other mediums can or will do.
Newspaper articles tend to be a beginning point of conversations about local issues.
It is also a very good medium for advertising. All of the surveys I see show that people read the newspaper for the news, but almost equally they read it for the advertising. Contrast that with television advertisements. People usually get up to get a drink or go to the bathroom or, if they stay seated, click to other channels while the advertisement is on. A newspaper is solid, talks across all lines, and is available to hit a broad section of people attractive to advertisers.