Local newspapers still play vital role

There's been a lot of hand-wringing in recent years about the death of local newspapers, those bastions of democracy and chroniclers of community.

While the loss of any newspaper hurts the people they serve, residents of rural areas and small towns are hit especially hard when a newspaper shuts down. When a local newspaper closes, citizens lose impartial news and information about town and county government, school boards, local athletic teams, academic awards, county fairs and the mundane and special occurrences of a community's life.

Despite the very real consequences of the shrinking tradit...