The Dallas Morning News is reportedly doing another round of layoffs today, the third round of layoffs for the flagship paper in the Metroplex since 2008.
We've discussed before the DMN implementing a paywall, with much of their content at the site now requiring a subscription to read. I do think the pay model is what newspapers are going to have to do going forward to survive -- I simply don't think that an advertiser-supported structure is workable for newspapers, unless they dramatically strip down the amount and level of content that they offer. And as I've mentioned before in regards to the DMN, I think part of their problem is that the process of subscribing for the online-only version is so unwieldy if you don't have a print subscription.
That said, the common reaction around these parts tends to be a shrug...what difference does it make, after all, if the DMN is alive or not? The problem is that I can't do what I do, and other bloggers, for the most part, can't do what they do, without the reporters who are out there covering the team and providing us with news. I don't break news or report...I comment and opine on the news that others are reporting and breaking. Blogs will have a lot less to discuss without the DMN, Star-Telegram, and other papers out the providing us with information.