First off, no, they won't. The journalism of 30 years ago isn't coming back in any form. May as well be hoping for a resurgence of semaphore (granted, there is a news site with a closely related name).
"Normal" is a rather tricky thing to nail down in news, in much the same way that NOAA produces new "average" temperatures each decade to include only the prior 30 years.
What was normal in 1986 is not normal 40 years later.
The problem is, to break the problem of shareholder value, you would need thousands of people willing to buy papers, take on printing costs, hire lawyers ...
"But some papers are digital only," you may respond. Yes, and the proportion increases each week. When I learned the paper I worked at from 2010-2011 went to publishing a print edition only three days a week a few years later, it was a sign.
Time was, we had the monopoly on the AP feed locally, grocery circulars, what kid got a Little League trophy, and of course, quilting bees. Not to mention "Drunk Driver Runs Into Pole" (and we have art).
There are economic, systemic and sociological reasons for this. You may be able to shift one with out a clutch, but all three is an impossibility.
It is up to each of us to maintain media literacy and understand we're not going back to where we were. Vigilance is indicated.
remember when we broke up ma bell?
While I agree with your point, that is an absurdly simplified graphic. I grew up with Mountain Bell; the breakup happened when I was 5. I honestly thought "Ma Bell" has shorthand for Mountain Bell. Then the mergers started. Just like with banks.
You've basically illustrated one leg of an octopus.
yeah theres better ones out there... i knew the point would stand.
'regulation' is for sale by just how much money can you funnel to the trumps