BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

One of the world's greatest newspapers - and one of my favorites - is struggling to meet the challenges of technology, a changing readership, and what that means for journalism as we know it. The fact of the matter is that a new journalistic paradigm is now upon us.

In an internal memo authored last week by Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Robert Thompson, we now have further evidence that the decline of in-depth, investigative coverage is continuing and that the changing role for newspapers isn' t limited to your local daily. It now includes the greatest standard bearer of global business coverage.

In the memo, Thompson calls for a "fundamental shift in orientation" from the multi-faceted examinations of corporate inner-workings that The Journal is known for, to a focus on shorter, headline-grabbing snippets. As one Journal reporter put it, Thompson is "turning us all into wire reporters."

To be clear, the issue at hand is not that the Wall Street Journal is dying. It' s not. The issue is the rapid decline of the investigative abilities that, for many, define the Fourth Estate. Without it, what is a Democracy worth?

When one of only three national papers left with an investigative budget moves to abandon its historical focus on in-depth journalism, who will fill the void? At a juncture when leadership and visions of self regulation are so desperately needed, this decision will make it much more difficult to engage in informed public debate.

While bloggers and upstart investigatory media are - in some cases - picking up the slack, investigative journalism is but a shadow of what it once was. And that' s a dangerous prospect - given that in the Era of Accountability, the need is for more substance on the critical issues of the day and fewer sensational and fleeting headlines.

At this point in time especially, depth needs to triumph over the headline.