Readers of two North Hills weekly papers that ceased publication last week have not only lost a source of local news but also community touchstones, some northern suburbanites are saying.

"This is terrible," said Jeff Fuller, a Ross resident and former journalist who wrote for the McKnight and North journals for about four years. "Dailies can only allow so much space for local issues. The public is paying the price for this."

The McKnight and North journals, which published their final editions last Thursday, were among seven weeklies that were shut down by Trib Total Media, the Tribune-Review's parent company.

The North Journal was launched in 1991 and The McKnight Journal started in 2003, according to the Trib Total Media's Gateway Web site www.gatewaynewspapers.com.

Kimberly Palmeiro, managing editor of the former Gateway Press weeklies that Trib Total Media bought in 2003, did not return phone calls seeking comment.

The other weeklies that ceased publication last week were the Woodland Progress, which covered Chalfant, Churchill, Edgewood, Forest Hills, Turtle Creek and Wilkins; the Advance Leader, which covered Oakmont and Verona; The Bridgeville Area News; and the Coraopolis-Moon Record News.

Ten former Gateway weeklies will continue publication, and eight of them will expand coverage to include news from communities where the closed papers used to circulate, the Tribune-Review reported.

Those eight include the Monroeville Times Express; Plum Advance Leader; Murrysville Star; Norwin Star; Penn-Trafford Star; the Signal-Item, which reports on Crafton, Carnegie, Green Tree and Rosslyn Farms; Pine Creek Journal; and the Sewickley Herald.

In his farewell blog on YourNorthHills.com, however, Jerry Clark, sports editor for both the McKnight and North journals, indicated the other weeklies might not make up for lost coverage.

"The Pine Creek publication will still be in circulation, covering Shaler, Hampton, Pine-Richland and Vincentian Academy, but I'm sad to say North Allegheny and North Hills athletics will no longer be covered under that umbrella," he wrote in the blog, which appeared June 26.

North Allegheny spokeswoman Joy Ed said district residents undoubtedly will miss the North Journal's sports and news coverage.

"The North Journal has been very faithful in covering events and activities for our school district, both academic and athletic," she said.

"At almost every important North Allegheny event, you could find a North Journal reporter or photographer in the crowd and we have greatly appreciated the many North Allegheny features and photos they have published over the years. I am sure that our community will miss the way in which the North Journal kept them in touch with school and neighborhood news."

Not only were the weeklies a source of news, they also were vehicles in which organizations could make announcements and promote programs.

"We're disappointed at the loss of the northern suburban papers. They were a great source of information for us in terms of getting the word out about upcoming library events," said Frank Gilbert, spokesman for Northland Public Library in McCandless.

Sandy Brown, an amateur North Hills historian, said newspapers are a good resource for historians and geneaologists, and losing the two weeklies is troubling.

"I think they were wonderful," she said of the McKnight and North journals. "It's a major loss."

From an historical perspective, the weeklies were able to focus on slice-of-life stories and people's achievements better than their metro counterparts.

"People don't always think that what they do or how they live is important," Ms. Brown said. "But you can't lose that local perspective. It gives people a sense of community."

Mr. Fuller agrees, and that's why he started a blog in January 2007, The North Hills Tattler, that focuses on local politics and news issues.

As a journalist, he couldn't express his opinions about the stories he covered. Now, he can pontificate to his heart's content via his blog on the Internet, and he predicts other people will do the same if newspapers continue to cease or scale back local coverage.

"The [weeklies] did features and went to school board meetings," he said. "Let's face it, the daily papers don't have the space or resources to do it like [the weeklies]."

"If this pattern continues, alternate media is going to have to be the main venue for news," he added.