A thought: What if the Internet dies?

Several stories recently set me to wondering. What if all the newspapers quit publishing print since "everybody's getting their news online," then the Internet dies? Several technical problems are beginning to impact the Web; meanwhile, advertising doesn't seem to support as many sites are are out there (see "The End of the Free Lunch . . . Again). Internet companies are laying people off and scaling back operations since it seems that online advertising can support only so many sites. Overall, Internet advertising is off so far this year. Meanwhile, Online Media Daily reports concerns that network providers' fooling around with information adds privacy concerns that might challenge the free Internet itself.