The era of the big-city newspaper as a dependable beacon for the American people is over. A few stalwarts, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, remain true to the mission that has defined them for more than a century, but even they are in jeopardy. And what's happened to the others? Charles Madigan's -30- is the story of the decline of an important institution, the big-city American newspaper, told in a collection of incisive pieces by practitioners of the art and craft of journalism. At heart it's an insider's story, but with serious and vast consequences in the world beyond the newsroom.