BOSTON -- Recent reports that the Boston Globe’s viability may be more precarious than ever make us wonder: what would life be like in a major American city after the loss of a major daily newspaper?

They already know in Denver, Seattle and Newark. And they may very well soon find out in dozens of other large cities from Philadelphia to Chicago to San Francisco.

Simply put, newspapers as we’ve known them are not merely in trouble, they are on life support. Newspapers have long lived in denial about evolving trends, while simultaneously forging ahead on web sites where they offer the same content for free.

Nevertheless, anyone who blithely dismisses the death of a newspaper like the Globe, and counts on the web to completely fill the news void, is also in denial. Without the Boston Globe, explosive revelations about the Big Dig and clergy sex abuse might never have surfaced. The Globe’s recent investigative work on state pension abuse may ultimately save taxpayers more money than any recent action on Beacon Hill.

It is the Globe’s double misfortune to not only be victim to the same bruising financial forces facing all media, but to also be owned by the New York Times, itself heavily in debt and now desperately trying to shed costly assets like the Globe.

It may well be that newspapers as we know them will not survive. For now, those who see the enduring value of a free and robust press in a Democracy should be rooting for newspapers like the Globe to find their footing, and to help solidify, along with the web and other media, a vibrant blend of effective news platforms.

Ultimately, an informed citizenry thrives on more, not less, information.