I started in journalism at a gritty daily newspaper that had the pulse of its equally gritty city — this city — but not enough advertisers to keep its own pulse going. That paper was the Baltimore News-American. Two years after I left the paper, it closed. The headline “So Long, Baltimore” graced its final front page.

Today marks another sad farewell. This is the last time you will be reading this newspaper. By now, you know. It’s been all over the news for two weeks. Newspapers seldom make the news in a good way. No news, in journalism, is never good news. But sometimes, the alternative is worse.