San Fran Chrontrarian Debra Saunders, one of our favorite columnists, has this column on the continuing financial woes of newspapers and why no one should be happy about it.

Many conservatives feel a warm glow at the possible demise of an institution that they believe to be failing because of liberal bias. On the far left, that same glow will satisfy those who think newspapers are not liberal enough.

As for those who only read their news online, here's a news flash: News stories do not sprout up like Jack's bean stalk on the Internet. To produce news, you need professionals who understand the standards needed to research, report and write on what happened. If newspapers die, reliable information dries up.

We at C&C are well aware of how much we depend on reporters for the factual basis of the stories we discuss here. That is why we credit reporters by name, something few blogs bother to do. We have our disagreements at times, and we express them candidly. One of the most important functions of blogs is to keep the mainstream press honest and call them when we think they have misreported something. Yet we should not, and we at C&C do not, cheer at the financial distress of newspapers or their shrinking number.