Isms: Views on life in rural America

“Daily newspapers have traditionally constituted the heart and soul of local news media and they have provided the lion’s share of original reporting upon which all other news media depend,” wrote Robert McChesney and John Nichols, in the “Columbia Journalism Review” last November.

For Nebraska news enthusiasts who rely on the daily dish from a local daily newspaper, the future of news is hazy at best.

First, a majority of daily papers in Nebraska are owned by Lee Enterprises. In fact, when Lee purchased newspapers owned by Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway, they inherited 12 daily papers:...