Novelist Michael Connelly asks the plaintive question in our headline in a piece in the Los Angeles Times about the downsizing or elimination of book reviews in newspapers across the country.

We've run into this trend a lot lately. Newspapers are relying on wire services for reviews more and more, eliminating book editor positions and shrinking the newshole dedicated to literature. It's a pure business decision motivated by media consolidation and a desire to squeeze the last penny of profit out of each paper. We all know this depressing truth, yet what Connelly points out in his piece is how short-sighted this strategy is, and how, if anything, it is likely to hasten the downfall of newspapers, not make them more robust.

To answer the question in the headline, we'll see more fragmentation, more regional or niche stars and fewer Updikes, Hemingways and Murakamis. The best bet for small presses is to light a fire in a region or a niche and try to fan the flames so that others will hear about your book. Playing on the national scale is becoming more of an insider's game. We'll still try to get on Oprah, get reviewed in the NYT and have our book talked about on "All Things Considered," but unfortunately, it's not worth the time contacting the book editors at major dailies when they are constantly under fire, having their jobs eliminated or their responsibilities truncated. Frankly, newspapers are becoming less relevant to publishers like Chin Music Press and that's a shame.