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Alden's pattern of behavior when it comes to budget cuts, layoffs, and general downsizing can be seen not only at the East Bay Times, but also at other publications.

This points to a likely outcome for the publications under the wing of Tribune Publishing, whose fate will be quite similar.

Today's journalism is in crisis 

A 2019 Brookings report points to the wider crisis facing newspaper outlets across the country. It is reported that over 65 million Americans today live in jurisdictions with one local newspaper or none at all.

The traditional business model utilized by local newspapers has fallen by the wayside as advertising and subscription revenues continue to decline. From 2008-2018 advertising revenues declined by a whopping 68%.

As the pie continues to shrink, digital advertising attempts to fill the breach, albeit with little impact. At the end of the day, revenues are declining too rapidly for digital revenues to make up for revenue shortfalls.

The biggest competitors to traditional news outlets are social media giants Facebook and Google, who aggregate and distribute news content. Roughly 58% of national digital advertising revenues are earned by the two tech giants.

Looking at things locally, Google and Facebook hold 77% of revenues made in local markets, which effectively puts most shops out of business. To make matters worse:

"The local news crisis has also precipitated a general disengagement from local democratic life. As Americans have shifted away from local news, turnout in state and local elections has fallen, and communities that have lost reporters have seen fewer candidates run for local office," Brookings says.

Alden's potential purchase of Tribune Publishing is only another drop in the bucket in a much wider crisis currently gripping America. Today, Americans consume their news in an entirely different way, leaving thousands of local newspapers on the ash heap of history.

Will journalism return to its previous role as the Fourth Estate?

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