On Tuesday The Christian Science Monitor announced that, starting April 1, it would become an online-only newspaper, with only a weekly magazine printed for subscribers. This is not a surprising move (as I discussed in my first post), but it is a potentially daunting one as The Monitor is the first major newspaper to take this route. The editor of The Monitor, John Yemma, told The New York Times that the change is one that other newspapers will have to make within the next five years. And as such, The Monitor will be watched closely.

First, a few caveats. The Monitor is a non-profit newspaper. While it maintains journalistic integrity, it is funded by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, and therefore it has a bit of a buffer while making this switch. It also reportedly made less than $1 million in advertising revenue per year from the paper with the majority of its revenues stemming from their subscriptions (reportedly $9 million). The conversion will allow it to save money and keep its foreign bureaus open. Yemma also speculated to the Times that the weekly magazine that will replace the weekday newspaper will still appeal to subscribers and be more attractive to print advertisers.

All that said, what does this mean for the industry? For one, it’s finally happening. All the speculation about where news will go as papers decline is solidifying. It’s not surprising. Everyone knew it was happening, and online-only editions are pretty much the only way to go. But now more questions surface. If a newspaper is nothing more than a bookmarked website, why read more than one? Will we find ourselves in a time much like the dawn of the dailies when each paper had a clear political slant, and sensationalism and scoops were the currency of the hour? Will I go to the Washington Post website because I agree with its bias and shun the Wall Street Journal website because I can’t stand its? How will online only newspapers affect blogs?

In a perfect world, streamlined newsrooms necessitated by online-only newspapers will result in the best of the best rising to the top. Journalism jobs may grow harder to come by, but open any newspaper and it won’t take long for you find a story written by a nut who should have been replaced long ago. There is room for pruning in our newspapers, and the demand for higher quality writing will be met by the best journalists. If this scares you, become a better writer. Of course this dream may not be realized, but one can hope.

As far as The Monitor goes, it’s not worried about a drop in quality, and, as Assistant Features Editor Kendra Nordin told me, it’s not the news that’s changing, just the way we’re getting it. Encouraging words.