Are newspaper websites better than their inky cousins?

From Paul Levine...

You're not going to like this, but I want to push the proposition, at least for argument's sake, that newspaper websites are better than their inky cousins. Before you smack me with a rolled up copy of The Daily Fishwrapper, hear this. I am a former newspaper reporter (The Miami Herald) and I am the only person on my block to have five newspapers home delivered. I treasure newspapers and understand their importance to an informed electorate. Could any website have had the resources and the savvy to nail President Nixon during Watergate?

And I agree it's a more pleasing experience to read the paper at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and toast slathered with peach jam. However...

I'm just asking whether www.herald.com, for example, has advantages over its hard copy cousin, The Miami Herald, thanks to:

Updates throughout the day;

Links to related stories, great for writers doing research;

The ability to e-mail stories with the click of a mouse or to post stories to Facebook and other social networking sites;

Extensive use of high resolution color photos; slide shows and video;

And did I forget to mention...it's all FREE!

Yes, I know that last item is one of the reasons newspapers are dying like citrus in a cold snap.

Dude, it's amazing that anyone reads newspapers at all anymore!

We also know the weaknesses of websites. Which among them has the trained investigative staffs that make newspapers an invaluable asset of democracy?

Last year, The New York Times won a Pulitzer for its stories on toxic ingredients in medicine imported from China, leading to crackdowns by both the American and Chinese governments. The Washington Post won the Pulitzer for its series on private security contractors in Iraq operating outside the law. The Chicago Tribune won for exposing faulty governmental regulation of toys, car seats and cribs, resulting in the recalls of hazardous products and new federal laws.

Who would cover these topics with orginal reporting? Salon? Huffington Post? Drudge Report? Naked Authors? Ha.

So, what can we hope for if paper-and-ink newspapers shrivel and die? Perhaps website publications with the full newsroom staffs that are the equivalent of the best newspapers of 20 years ago. There'll be no more expensive printing and delivery. If websites can find the model to CHARGE for their services -- as The Wall Street Journal and a few others do now -- perhaps the future is not as bleak as it may appear.

Your thoughts?

Oh, those papers I still have home delivered: The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Variety, and (by mail), Penn State's Daily Collegian.

GUEST BLOGGING: I'll be stopping by The Kill Zone this Sunday. Don't know what I'll be writing, but I'm sure it will not win a Pulitzer Prize.

FLOGGING THE BOOK: If you're still one of the millions of Americans who have not purchased, borrowed, or stolen "Illegal," there are many ways to do on my website. You can also sign up for my newsletter and win many exciting prizes, including a free day of sailing on Jim Born's lake.

Paul Levine