Will Local Papers Become Extinct?

Yes, according to Felix Salmon. He doesn't based this on any analysis of data, but on statements he heard from four regional newspaper executives.

They talked about their children or their grandchildren not reading newspapers, they talked about terribly smart web-design kids, they got really excited about multimedia content which genuinely was exciting ten years go. Hell, Brian Greenspun of the Las Vegas Sun gave a long presentation a large part of which was devoted to recounting in excruciating detail how his website can be updated more than once a day as news comes in. Ted Olson talked about (really!) setting up a 15-member commission to look into all of this. This was a panel of dinosaurs, who are being driven by fear and necessity rather than vision.

Brutal. Salmon's post is well worth a read (as is his blog as a whole). This shows again the wisdom of companies like Thomson Reuters.