Fascinating comments.  here's one: "We seem to be heading towards some form of post-literate society where news is best digested in small bites (or is that Tweets). It is sad for news junkies, of whom there are many."

I suggest comments about "post literate society" are nonsense.  I suspect this "society" has much the same level of literacy as previous generations (and, you only need to go back 125 years or so to realize 21s century society is MUCH MORE literate than one at the end of the Victorian era.) So, let's get rid of that silliness right now.  Yes, newspaper stories were longer back then; the "inverted triangle" format meant readers they could skip the final paragraphs and get "the important stuff." Still does.

There are "many" news junkies? Maybe.  Moot point. "News junkies" didn't make small town newspapers profitable.  Not even display ads.  It was pages and pages of tiny 4-6 line want ads.  Craigslist and Kijiji wiped them out, and doing so,  wiped out profit margins.