Jeff Jarvis, a blogger and newspaper consultant posted some recent newspaper circulation statistics, in addition to several comments on those numbers:

Half the American population no longer reads newspapers: plainly, they are the clever half. — Gore Vidal
People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news. — A.J. Liebling
It’s amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper. — Jerry Seinfeld

I’ve been asked a number of times whether I like newspapers, or not. The answer for me, at last comes down to quality and utility.
I’ve always been a news junkie, often winning 7th grade Milwaukee Journal classroom news contests (my parents have always been avid readers). Like my parents, however, I read mostly online these days, often via my RSS newsreader. Once you get into this groove, purchasing, flipping through and disposing of the paper (and all of the stuff packaged with it) truly is yesterday’s news. Like many, I’ve also become used to obtaining information when and where I want it – not waiting for the print news cycle to deliver the hard copy to me.
The print products I read include The Economist, The New York Times (not for long, perhaps still Sundays…) and locally, the Isthmus. I’ve always enjoyed the Economist and the NYT for their national and international coverage. However, I think the Washington Post is now doing a much better job on those fronts than the Times. The Post has the confidence to interact with emerging media that most others seem to lack. Jay Rosen has more on that issue. Blogs have also added an interesting element to the discussion, from local issues to global matters. One blogger (I don’t recall who), captured what’s happening rather nicely: She correctly recalled the perception that Big Steel had of the emerging mini-mills during the 1970’s and 80’s. The mini-mills were perceived as bottom feeders, living of the scraps of the big mills. The mini-mills had much lower costs, superior processes and in many cases, have convincingly taken over their markets.
I think we’ll see a growing amount of original work from emerging media (a Silicon Valley blog broke the rather amazing story of Google’s founders purchasing a used 767 for their personal travels). This work will, by its very nature take advantage of the latest technologies.
Getting back to the question of whether I like newspapers or not. The answer, it seems to me is clear. I like those that use their tremendous (TREMENDOUS!!) resources (cash flow) effectively. I don’t have time or interest in those that don’t. The numbers Jarvis posted and Vidal refers to demonstrate that my views on this matter are not unique.