Politically, it's not necessarily bad cause, at least around here, all the local free papers are way to the left of the major dailies.
[WS:] It's bad, Joanna, pretty bad, because it signifies further dumbing down of the US society. The trend is only among more respectable newspapers, while tabloids are on the rise. I do not know about you, but I'd rather have a serious, respectable newspaper expressing views that I find disagreeable than a "politically correct" tabloid. Tabloids (and pictorial media in general) tend to appeal mainly to ignorant and indolent people who are easily manipulated by sensationalism and demagoguery.
It looks like this society is heading toward a medieval model with a few highly educated and literate monks or Brahmins and illiterate masses whose main if not only means of written communication is pictures.
Wojtek