Perfect example of a "new" newspaper and what it must become or there will be no news is HERE Take a tour on a subject you could care less about and check it out. Many papers do a little of this but this paper is 60% there.....

There IS a role for Newspapers

And not as bird cage liner. An emerging and necessary role for "newspapers" can be seen by reading the three part WaPo series on the housing bubble, and many of the NYT links I've made. Many of the published pieces have on line interactivity with charts and data. This detail, backed up with references and NO ANONYMOUS sources can be a bright future for newspapers. News: just facts. Detailed articles or essays can be very good, but only if the "reporters" are honest---OK, in the present environment honest plus reporters is an oxymoron---and only if the paper separates these essays from whatever political agenda obtains in the publishing and editorial departments. There IS a potential role for newspapers, but as of right now they are liars, manufacturers of stories, and indoctrination manuals. For an egregious example of newspaper lying be sure to check Patterico on the Judge Kozinski reporting. For another go here to yesterday's link to the Haditha reporting..... Both links are to total shit in "respected" media.

Newspapers CAN be relevant: Since Murdoch took over the Wall Street Journal several tools have been developed that make the site far more interactive and a hell of a lot better. Go over there and take a look, particularly click on the RH column's Drew Carey thingy. There are a ton of video links there but get a feel. Really really good. See, Rupert actually knows how to run a news organization, but most of us already knew that. You will also learn that many of the stories are interactive as well. Big improvement in the Journal, you can see where the rest of the herd is simply out of it.