Globe Newswire reports that The Dallas Morning News is expanding the size of its newspaper, increasing its subscriber revenue and hiring five accomplished journalists. It sounds kind of modest, except that for years, it seems, news about the newspaper industry has been all about declining circulation, closures, layoffs and cutbacks. What’s the Dallas paper doing that other papers aren’t? Reassessing itself, including subscription rates.

In Colorado Springs, meanwhile, a different reassessment of sorts is going on. Steve Pope, the new publisher and president of the Gazette, is connecting with readers—and city leaders—by telling them, frankly, what he thinks of their town and his newspaper’s role. He says he’s seen “more shouting than talking” and not enough listening about important issues facing the community.

“I will freely admit that my newspaper has been part of that,” he adds, saying he’s talked to the Gazette’s opinion section about making arguments more respectful.

North of Denver, the Denver Post’s parent company, Media News Group, hasn’t given up on newspapers. Last weekend, the company launched The Longmont Ledger, the weekly that will be inserted for free into the Post and Boulder’s Daily Camera, notes Editor & Publisher.

Still, newspaper owners and media watchers across the country continue to run the gamut of predictions on the future of newsprint. Recently embattled Tribune Company owner Sam Zell tells Bloomberg (below) “nobody can survive,” while Slate argues that things are not as bad as they seem.