Here’s a study from Ad Age that tells us why local newspapers will survive.
The main reason that people subscribe to a local newspaper is to get local news. In most cities, no one else delivers local news like the newspaper. Newspapers generally put more reporters on the street than all other media outlets combined. They cover the local meetings regularly, big story or not. And, they have a local brand name that goes back generations. They own local news.
The question remains how long printed newspapers will survive, but that’s a different issue.