Breaking News: Does anybody know what happened today?

The broken and beleaguered local news ecosystem we live in now makes us uneasy. Who can we turn to and trust to tell us what's going on?

In a perfect world, I'd publish a daily newspaper called, say, The Charlottesville Messenger, and I'd hire 10 of the best journalists in town, from a variety of diverse backgrounds, and they'd cover everything - restaurant openings, arts and entertainment, government corruption, politics, crime, police, equity issues, land use, development, what UVA is really up to, etc. I'd trust my reporters to follow the truth wherever it leads them. I'd encourage them to take risks, follow their instincts, make themselves a nuisance if they have to, question sources, verify their facts, and always question their own assumptions. We'd have a beautifully designed print edition and a website that was easy to read and navigate. We'd have interesting podcasting and video programming. We'd try both to inform and entertain. We'd have great Christmas parties.

The reality, however, is that our local news operations have been limping along into the 21st century for over two decades now, still trying to fin…