Newspaper woes continue in U.S.

TUCSON, March 16 (UPI) -- A U.S. media think-tank said newspaper companies need to beat the bushes for new ideas for revenue in a recession in which the Internet is grabbing readers.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism said in a report Monday that "no one source is a likely magic bullet" that will pull newspapers from its doldrums, The Christian Science Monitor reported Monday.

"In the last year, the business model has deteriorated so quickly it's now 'man the battleships,'" Mark Jurkowitz, the project's associate director told the newspaper.

In an era beset by bankruptcy filings and closures, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer moved to an online-edition only news company Monday. On the same day, The Tucson Citizen announced it would stop publishing if it could not find a buyer by March 21.

Many major cities are losing their dual-newspaper status. Besides Seattle, the Rocky Mountain News closed in February. The Chicago Tribune and the Philadelphia Inquirer filed for bankruptcy. The Miami Herald, is up for sale.

Indeed, while hunger for news is unabated, "the prospect of a 'no-paper' town is a real one," The Christian Science Monitor reported.