2009 News: Fewer newspapers, more eye candy

Under the headline "Now The Details: Best of Times...Worst of Times,"Jeff Dvorkin, former VP for news at NPR, offers New Year predictions for the mainstream media, starting with a prediction that they'll be "spending less on journalism and more on eye candy" to be competitive with online media.

He also warns about more "stories that are quick 'turn-arounds' - single source stories (aka press release journalism) and crime."

For newspapers, he predicts a drop in printed, home-delivered editions, more Internet-only editions, and more newspapers becoming not-for-profit operations along the public broadcasting model.

As for broadcasters, Dvorkin warns they will stop seeing their news departments as "loss leaders" and force their news programs to adopt the values of "reality entertainment."

I'm having a Dickens of a time figuring out why the "best of times" was part of his headline.