It's articles like this one from the WSJ that make me a believer in the long term future for mainstream media. It's a great look at the challenges faced by the Pope, (subscription required) and by default by the Catholic Church in general. It's well written, well researched, thoughtful, respectful, full of great information and insight, and the sort of story that truly could not be told through the lens of opinion that tends to pervade the blogosphere. I asked the question a few months ago about who would cover city council meetings if the daily newspaper didn't exist. The same is true for writing like this -- it really matters, but it tends not to bubble up to the top of things that enflame passion, and thus blogs.
We need both. Let's hope the media figure it out.