Media in real life.

Bolos and O'Connor have mentioned many times how they read the newspaper on a daily basis, which always makes me feel a little guilty. Unlike them, I do not read the newspaper. Worse, I don't even use the little button on my iGoogle that shows top headlines. On occasion, I half-listen to the radio on my way to school, but I am definately not functioning at that hour of the day. So where do I get my news?
The answer is pretty vague: I rely on my friends and mom to let me know when anything note-worthy is occuring. Even as I type this, I am aware of how bad this sounds. I should become more proactive, and go search for information--but, as the whiney and obnoxious voice in my head says, why?
State of the Media.org declares that the percent of people who read newspapers on a daily basis is dropping significantly, as is the number of newspapers in the country. This came up in class--newspapers are now buying each other, making the same stories appear in several newspapers, with the same spin on things.
If you scroll down on the State of the Media link, you'll see a chart with the ages of the audiences that read a newspaper. (My blogger isn't letting me post the image, but it's a little more than half-way down the page) The data only goes to 2003, but it's clear that my generation sucks at reading the paper, Sunday or weekday.


Is this bad? Of course, for anyone pursuing a journalism career it's not the best news. But are there enough media "outlets" where the nation no longer needs to rely on newspapers? And how informed do we have to be?