Miami defense attorney Roy Black says Miami Herald 'has lost its relevance'

"Old" Miami Herald.

"New" Miami Herald. 

The Miami Herald unveiled a re-design of its printed newspaper last Wednesday.

By now, some of you are probably asking, "Wait....the Herald still prints a newspaper?"

Yes, they still print a newspaper for die-hard fans of print journalism.

In a nutshell, the new look is cleaner and easier to read.

On the downside, there's less to read. They have eliminated the freestanding local section. Instead, local news is now in the A section along with the business news.

One retired Herald staffer posted a picture on Facebook of the "new" - rain-soaked - Herald she received Wednesday morning. (Some things never change.)

A few days ago, Herald executive editor Mindy Marques wrote about the feedback she's received from readers.

However, many of you told us you missed having local and business news in separate sections. “I have been reading the Miami Herald for 40 years and the new format really stinks,” one reader wrote.

Said another: “Every morning at breakfast, we have three people who share the paper. Didn’t anyone at the Herald realize this before removing two sections?”

Apparently no one at the Herald gave any thought to the fact that many people who still read print editions of any newspaper do so because they're resistant to change.

I've checked around and the general consensus on the Herald's new look can be summed up in two words....

In her column, Marques said, "We packaged all news in the A section to underscore our emphasis on local news."

But famed Miami defense attorney Roy Black ain't buying it. This morning he weighed in on Facebook with a few thoughts on the Herald's alleged "emphasis on local news"...

I love reading newspapers. I get 7 or 8 a day. Some hard copy some electronic. So it is with great sadness that, after “reading” this morning’s edition of the Miami Herald, I can only say RIP.

The paper as I knew it for the past few decades has passed away. I will mourn its demise.

I figured the “new” format used in the past week was only for the daily edition. Unfortunately my optimism was misplaced. The Herald has given up the ghost. It has abandoned the local section. its raison d’etre. The corporate spin doctors claim the local news has been merged into national section because of its “importance.”

They sound like Carly Fiorina justifying her disastrous job at HP.

The only reason to get the paper is for the local news. We can get national news everywhere on the web. The Herald would be better off if they abandoned the national news and only reported the local.

In case you haven’t noticed they made sure to keep sports in its own section. That tells you what is important to them. In today’s edition there is virtually nothing on local reporting. A couple of pages filled more with advertising than information. I think they merged the sections to cover up the reduction in local reporting. So there is no longer any reason to get the paper. It has lost its relevance.