The problem with community papers is that they cover all the local and important (but not world-shattering) items that are actual of impact to your life: Municipal politics, local crime, local events.  These are all things that may directly impact your life.  They are also not as sexy as what gets reported in the "big media".  Famine in South Sudan is a big deal, but has little or no direct impact on your life here and there is little you can do about it.  With the internet, you would think the local news would flourish while the Google's of the world kill the big media.  Sadly, both local and national media is getting killed, local even faster as people refuse to read "paper".  I am as guilty as anyone else of "amusing myself to death" with international news of little direct impact.  How do we fix this?  We need those local reporters and media outlets.