50 years ago (1972) there were thousands of magazines, newspapers, and radio stations in the US -- the vast majority of which were independently owned and opera

50 years ago (1972) there were thousands of magazines, newspapers, and radio stations in the US -- the vast majority of which were independently owned and operated. Today the number of newspapers is down 10X what they were then, and independent newspapers are down 10X more (~1/100). The number of magazines is down 5X. If you've noticed, even the best among them are really struggling for ad dollars. (Both the Economist magazine and The NewYorker now cost $9/issue, for a WEEKLY.) Perhaps worse is the loss of staff journalists -- the folks who give each periodical its personality and continuity. The majority of print journalists today are independent/stringers, with little prospect of sustaining that career. Outside of Oligarch-Six media, the rest of print media are struggling to survive. Hiring persistent staff has become simply unaffordable. For example, every one of the automotive journalists I've followed for decades have all 'retired' in the past few years. Alas, just about all print journalism not owned by a megacorporation is dead or dying today.