If newspapers continue to bleed readers and advertising, they could go the way of the telegraph, the typewriter, or the linotype machine. Cause of death: vision failure. But before the wake proceeds, consider the work of Alberto Ibargüen, L’74.

In his role as president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which works to improve local journalism and strengthen communities, Ibargüen is leading an effort to change the way news is delivered. He wants to make news more immediate, more creative, more relevant. To do that, he knows the news business needs to go digital — and fast. He’s also convinced that, in order to survive, newspapers must embrace citizen journalism and adopt a form of participatory democracy envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

As Ibargüen warns, “I don’t think that print journalism — as we have known it — has a long-term future.”