Sorry to see it go

The Rocky Mountain News just announced that it will publish its final edition tomorrow. This is sudden. Just this week, someone from the Rocky Mountain News called our home to see if we wanted to subscribe to either the Rocky Mountain News or the Colorado Springs Gazette. I'm sad to see a newspaper fold when it has been around for 150 years and has stood as competition to the Denver Post.

Why haven't newspapers morphed yet in a way that allows them to make a profit while using the internet? Most of the people who would read newspapers seriously are probably using the internet--either mainly or as a supplement--to find their news these days. I don't need the TV guide (no TV), my supermarket ads are online, and I don't even miss the comics page now that I have lolcats to view. Classified ads are also no longer going to be a great revenue generator; we have craigslist. I have noticed that many newspapers websites are getting better at forcing me to glance at their advertising. Good for them! I should have to do something to get my news. The only news I would expect to get completely for free would be indoctrination (and that, I'd rather not pay for! Hence my unwillingness to subscribe to a paper to help pay for editorials...) or information from government organizations complying with their public service obligation (which isn't really free since we pay for it through taxes).