And then there was one

The Republican 1860 Main Street, Springfield

The Republican, Massachusetts' 4th largest newspaper, took a giant leap into the Digital Age by shedding the bricks and mortar ties that bound them to that long ago era when daily newspapers were the ultimate gatekeepers, synthesizing a river of information into a tidy dose of daily news that arrived on your doorstep with an early morning thud.

As of October 1st The Republican has shuttered satellite news office bureaus in Chicopee, Greenfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Palmer and Westfield. Their battleship of a building in Springfield, which houses their seven story, high-speed color press remains firmly afloat however.

Today information comes in tidal waves, and anyone can tap into it directly via the Internet.All a reporter needs is a laptop, camera, cell phone and Wi-Fi connection. The town of Amherst is even kind enough to provide free Wi-Fi in the downtown.

Downtown Wi-Fi emitters

Whether news is gathered in an office cubical over a rotary phone and tapped into a story via a Smith Corona typewriter, or captured on a flip video camera, edited on a MacBook Air and posted directly to YouTube, it's still flesh and blood reporters that ask questions, record results and package them for, potentially, a world wide audience.

And that I hope, will never change.