According to the Pew Research Center, newspaper readership fell 5 percent in just the past year, and advertising revenues are down 23 percent over the past two years. The third quarter of 2008 saw the worst decline in print ad revenue in nearly 40 years, reports the Newspaper Association of America. Several major chains are in bankruptcy, and a few big papers have disappeared entirely. With the economy in deep recession, the situation only looks to grow worse. Many bemoan the demise of the daily newspaper, arguing that it signals the end to the educated citizen. Others worry that Americans will retreat to ideological safe havens--cable TV channels, Internet sites, and blogs that conform to their strongly held views--which will lead to even greater divisiveness in politics and culture. Are these concerns valid when it comes to coverage of education? To find out, the author interviews some of the smartest minds in education journalism, including (1) Richard Lee Colvin of the Hechinger Institute; (2) Richard Whitmire, president of the National Education Writers Association (EWA); (3) Jim Bencivenga, formerly the education editor of the "Christian Science Monitor"; (4) Virginia Edwards, the publisher of "Education Week"; and (5) Elizabeth Green, an editor of the online upstart "GothamSchools". They all agree that the demise of the daily newspaper is bad for the local "conversation" around education. And even if papers survive, already the education beat is being squeezed. (Contains 2 figures.)