Most of the comments here sum it up nicely: The craft of and the demand for good journalism hasn't changed. The means of distributing it is changing rapidly.
I read great stories all the time. In the LA Times, on the Reuters and AP wires, in the New York Times.
I read all of their stories exclusively online. I have not dirtied my hands nor killed any trees by picking up a newspaper in many years.
Paying for news in today's free-for-all Internet is another subject. All things being equal, it's hard to justify paying for something you can get free somewhere else.
In a way, I hope this changes. It leaves news outlets to rely entirely on advertising for revenue on the Internet with implications that should be obvious.
I think micropayments would make a great counter to reliance on advertising revenue but we're a long way from that being feasible.
Good luck finding your niche!