A frequent criticism lodged against many U.S. newspapers is that they discourage aggressive young reporters from doing tough exposes and offbeat features and waging anti-Establishment crusades. Eight years ago, Cleveland Plain Dealer Publisher Thomas Vail decided that his paper needed revitalizing. Over several years, he recruited nearly a score of new staffers who were nicknamed "the young tigers." He loosed them on the seamier side of Ohio's largest city, and the paper's investigative reporting blossomed. Beamed Vail: "Terrific, just terrific."
No more. Most of the original "tigers" have moved on to other jobs and they are not being replaced by others of...