There are many different yard sticks to measure the health and quality of a local news ecosystem. We track ad revenue and audience numbers. We count the number of news outlets and look at the number of newsroom job losses. We watch out for journalism innovators and interesting partnerships. But occasionally in all of these examinations we lose sight of the forest for the trees. Sometimes, it is best to examine the quality of the journalism itself.

Earlier this year Clay Shirky did a comprehensive “news biopsy” of his hometown newspaper, the Columbia Daily Tribune. After literally dissecting the paper and weighing its different pieces he found that:

Last week, Steve Coll of the New America Foundation wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review about the need to update our outdated media policy framework. As we consider his recommendations, it’s worth examining similar debates happening abroad.

Last week, former governor Sarah Palin called on Congress to cut all funds for National Public Radio. "It's time for Congress to defund this organization," Palin wrote after NPR fired analyst Juan Williams for comments he made disparaging Muslims on Fox News Channel.

Palin set off a firestorm that spread from extreme right-wing blogs to Bill O'Reilly to Capitol Hill. Sen. Jim Demint (R - S.C.) announced plans to introduce legislation that slashes all funds to one of the last, best sources of journalism we have in America.

Last week, after much of the mainstream media worked itself into frenzy covering every angle of the Quran-burning story and the controversy over the proposed New York City Islamic community center, there was a moment of reflection in the press.

Journalists began investigating their own roles in fanning the fires of the controversies they were trying to cover. Memos swirled through newsrooms at the New York Times, Fox, and the AP discussing how to handle the story.