LA Observed is reporting that the already beleaguered L.A. Times, amidst rumors of further layoffs, has decided to fold its local section into the front section, "which will be reconfigured to downplay national and foreign news — despite...unanimous and vocal objections of senior editors."

Eliminating stand-alone local coverage was a decision, you may recall, that the New York Times made last October and considering this week's dire news on the Times front one wonders what section may next be considered extraneous. The Style Section? Sunday Times devotees everywhere may shudder at the thought but Jack Shafer tells the (newly launched) The Wrap why not?

If we were to lose the Sunday Styles section, would that be a cultural and societal catastrophe? I don't think so...If we were to lose Friday Escapes section, would it be the death knell for journalism? What is left behind after all these cutbacks? I know that there's a gargantuan appetite for news and I'm optimistic that people will want to consume news; whether they consume it in a New York Times brand, I'm not sure.