There are profitable local newspapers, like the Colorado Sun.
They were trying to kill the division of the newspapers that write and investigate local news. The newspaper have resources like brand recognition, local relationships, and sales people that are being used in ways that produce more profit than when they were strictly related to news. Look at digital first media / media news group / adtaxi as an example, there are similar doings for other groups. Buy local newspaper -> gut writers room -> use remaining resources to sell digital ads and other goods.
Then the solution is to make money by running a locally owned newspaper.
>and forcibly, slowly, killed.
Nobody was trying to kill them. Even if large owners were killing them, they did not want to.