The core of journalism's problem ...

... Is pretty interestingly defined by Fine Young Journalist, a Canadian blogger who, as his header says, is "A young Canadian journalist tries to figure out how to get young Canadians interested in journalism."

He's suspending his blogging. And his reasons why put a dagger into the heart of why journalism is struggling:

The splash of cold water really hit last January, when I wrote this post, whose premise was that the reassuring line many mainstream journalists repeat, that today's 17-year-old MySpacers will become 35-year-old parents and homeowners and newspaper subscribers and 6 o'clock news watchers in time, is plain false. Waiting for them to grow up is not a strategy, I wrote. ...

Here's my problem: now every mainstream-media attempt to attract younger audiences (formerly my core material) seems trivial, while every genuinely bold and interesting initiative seems as though it'll only attract younger audiences incidentally. I'm not finding much to write about. This thing has run its course, at least as initially designed. Served its purpose, if not in the way I expected.

Thanks to Notes from a Teacher: Mark on Media for the pointer.