Black and White and Dead All Over

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43% of Americans say it would hurt civic life "a lot" if their local newspaper closed. Yet when asked if they'd miss their paper, 42% say "not much" or "not at all."

About 80% of news is originally reported by newspapers, according to former Los Angeles Times editor John Carroll.

In 2006, 62% of all reporters worked for newspapers.

Nearly 1 in 5 newspaper journalists has lost his or her job since 2001.

In the first 5 months of 2009, 100 newspapers shut down and more than 9,000 newspaper jobs were lost.

In April, Lou Carlozo, who wrote the Chicago Tribune's "Recession Diaries" blog, was laid off—and not allowed to post about it.

That same month, St. Louis' Suburban Journals canned Todd Smith, a reporter who was shot last year when a gunman stormed a city council meeting he was covering.

Earlier this year, Phoenix's East Valley Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize for an investigative story written by a reporter who'd been let go 6 months earlier.

Even 4 years ago, 37 of the 100 largest daily papers had no full-time investigative reporters.

• The Trickle-Up Economy

  Who's laughing–and crying–all the way to the (federally bailed-out) bank.

• The Waistland

  Does America look fat in this?

• Germ Warfare

  We're obsessed with cleanliness—but now the bugs are fighting back.

Since 1985, the number of newspapers with Washington bureaus has dropped by more than 50%.

72% fewer newspapers and wire services cover Congress today than in the mid-1980s.

1/3 fewer newspaper reporters are dedicated to covering state capitols today than in 2003.

Nearly 2/3 of newspaper executives say they've cut foreign coverage in the past 3 years.

In May 2007, Pasadena Now announced it would outsource 2 local reporting jobs to India.

Fictional comic-strip reporter Brenda Starr was furloughed this spring. She's now working for an Indian paper.

Michael Precker left his job as a reporter and editor at the Dallas Morning News to manage a topless club because "it got to be more ridiculous to hang on at a newspaper."

In April, blogger Jonathan Mann created a video called "Saving Newspapers: The Musical!" Proposed solution: "Boobs on the front page!"

A 2007 survey found that the most knowledgeable media consumers were regular Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert watchers—tied with readers of newspaper websites.

The Internet displaced newspapers as Americans' No. 2 source of news in 2008. TV is still No. 1.

By one estimate, an entirely Web-based New York Times could generate only enough money to support about 20% of the paper's current staff.

Creating an endowment to finance the Times would cost an estimated $5 billion.

Last year, as Times stock fell 58%, CEO Janet Robinson's compensation went up $1.4 million, to $5.6 million.

In June 2007, the Times moved to a new, $1.5 billion building. It's since made money by selling its offices and leasing them back.

In August 2007, a Times op-ed called Mexican businessman Carlos Slim Helú a "robber baron." This January, the paper took a $250 million loan from Slim at 14% interest.

The editor of the New York Times Magazine says a typical cover story costs more than $40,000 to produce—and that excludes editing, art, and fact-checking.

That's more than Mother Jones' story budget for freelance writers for an entire issue.

Looks Bad on Paper

Annual % change for US papers

Sources: Newspaper Association of America; Nielsen Online

Last February, Gannett, which owns USA Today, wrote down $7.4 billion in "goodwill"—a measure of its brand value.

The American Society of Newspaper Editors recently took "paper" out of its name. Its president explained, "We are all way beyond ink on paper."

France has offered its newspaper industry a bailout package worth $800 million, including free subscriptions for 18-year-olds.

A similar bailout for US papers would cost at least $12 billion.

Asked in May if he'd invest in newspapers, Warren Buffett said he "would not buy them at any price." His business partner added, "It's really a national tragedy...They kept government more honest than they would otherwise be."

A recent study of government accountability around the world found a strong link between high levels of newspaper readership and lower levels of corruption.

An economist found that after the Cincinnati Post closed in 2007, fewer people in the area voted, fewer candidates ran for office, and incumbents were more likely to be reelected.

Before the 2006 elections, 30-minute local TV newscasts spent less than 2 minutes on election coverage. They spent 7 minutes on sports and weather.

Between 2007 and 2008, Iraq coverage dropped 95% on cable news, 91% on network news, and 65% in papers.

In March, the Newspaper Project launched a series of ads touting papers as "America's first portable information device."

New York Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. says the "wonderful" new $489 Kindle DX will "enhance our ability to reach millions of readers."

Forrester Research predicts that just 4.5% of consumers will own e-readers like the Kindle by 2012.

In November 2007, Rupert Murdoch decided to make the Wall Street Journal website free. This April, he declared, "People reading news for free on the Web, that's got to change."

San Francisco Chronicle editor Phil Bronstein has suggested that people who don't pay for news should be jailed.

In January, Google ended a venture to sell ads in papers. A month later, it lifted a ban on ads on Google News—whose content comes largely from papers.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said that except for reported news, the Internet is a "cesspool" of misinformation.

The top 10% of bloggers earnan average of $19,000 a year. For all bloggers, the median is $200 for men, $100 for women.

The median starting salary for journalism majors is $35,600. For econ majors, it's $50,100.

In May, the Huffington Post auctioned off an internship for charity. Its actual value was listed as $500. As this went to press, the top bid was $13,000.

36% of Americans say the press has "hurt democracy."

Earlier this year, while working as a correspondent for Pajamas Media, Joe "the Plumber" Wurzelbacher declared, "I think media should be abolished from, you know, reporting."