The economy came crashing down in September 2008 as the credit markets seized up, a massive dislocation which is now, tsunami-like, causing huge damage to the economy. This has significantly reduced the amount of credit available for businesses. Many news organizations — made vulnerable by media competition, the rapid drying-up of advertising dollars, fragmenting markets and the Internet — are being forced to close their doors, and it is very likely that many cities’ alternate papers, and in some cases their primary papers, will cease production this year.
