30: The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper » (Reprint)

The era of the big-city newspaper as a dependable beacon for the American people is over. A few stalwarts, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, remain true to the mission that has defined them for more than a century, but even they are in jeopardy. And what's happened to the others? Charles Madigan's -30- is the story of the decline of an important institution, the big-city American newspaper, told in a collection of incisive pieces by practitioners of the art and craft of journalism. At heart it's an insider's story, but with serious and vast consequences in the world beyond the newsroom.

ForeWord Magazine

30- is critical in understanding the decline and fall of America's major newspapers.

Introduction: The Way It Was. The Way It Is     3
Money, Technology, Tax Law, and Trouble   Elizabeth M. Neiva     11
What Happened to the Readers?   David Carr     19
Everybody Watches the New York Times   Rachel Smolkin     23
Trapped in Transition   Joseph Epstein     45
Fighting the Vortex   Rick Edmonds     58
The Wrong Way to Make Money   Philip Meyer     72
Tribune Company: Synergy's Broken Promise   Rachel Smolkin     86
Money! Money! Money! The Profits-versus-Quality War   Neil Hickey     106
Embracing Extinction: The 1970s and Newspaper Decline   Jack Shafer     128
Glory Days: The Billionaire Solution   Michael Wolff     133
Heartbreak on Wheels: The Philadelphia Inquirer   Michael Shapiro     144
Still a Powerful Voice   John Nichols     175
Can the Los Angeles Times Survive Its Owners?   Ken Auletta     190
Hidden Goldfields: Small-town Papers   Roger Plothow     210
How to Tune Back In   David T. Z. Mindich     213
Credits     233
Index     235