Canaries in the coal mine

We shrugged at the Christian Sciene Monitor, as we would at anyone who dips his or her toe in the water first. Then came U.S. News & World Report.

And now we hear the Freep is going three days a week in circulation.

I thought they or Chicago would be the first to take the leap. But, like with most others in our biz, they're moving slowly. Baby steps. Crawling to the precipe, wasting precious time, not getting the running start that could help them soar. Small wonder that, like Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius, they'll end up a puff o' smoke at the bottom of the cliff.

"The Times will be the first to go strictly online," folks predict. Wishful thinking, at best.

It won't be in the media capital of the world that the first genuine tremors are felt. It will be from one of our prouder cities, indeed -- but one with a less-storied history that Gotham.

I'm laying odds:

6-5: Hartford
6-2: Sacramento
2-1: Tampa
Even: The Star Ledger