WLNE's filing for protection against its creditors is the latest sign of trouble for a station that has long trailed in the ratings. But it is also emblematic of larger struggles for local television, which has been hit hard by the recession.

Local newscasters, as I wrote in a Phoenix piece last year, have shed live, on-scene reporting and cut back heavily on investigative reporting in the midst of the downturn.

I've got a piece in this week's Phoenix, on newsstands tomorrow, about the fascinating gubernatorial match-up taking shape now that Patrick Lynch has dropped out of the race.

It's Chafee v. Caprio in a race that is already scrambling traditional political alliances - Chafee, the independent, leads Caprio, the Democrat, among Democratic voters in the latest poll - and sets up an interesting showdown between man and message.

Aaron Blake, over at the Washington Post, has an interesting piece on the failure of many anti-establishment candidates - Democrats and Republicans challenging incumbents in primaries, third-party candidates - to raise money in what was supposed to be their year to capitalize on voter discontent.

Lincoln Chafee, independent candidate for governor in Rhode Island, is among those he cites:

The Providence Journal's parent company, A.H. Belo, held a conference call with reporters yesterday to announce earnings. And the company reported that it had its smallest revenue decline in two years. From a Wall Street Journal brief:

The company, which operates four daily newspapers and a group of websites mainly in Dallas and Texas, has posted a string of losses since it was spun off from Belo Corp.

With independent gubernatorial candidate Lincoln Chafee set to hold a press conference this afternoon detailing the vacant office space in state government buildings and the hefty rents the state is dishing out to lease from private landlords, Democratic rival Frank Caprio is issuing a pre-emptive strike via press release:

Gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio is on a roll. Pundits are rightly praising his tightly run campaign, with its laser-like focus on jobs. His early success helped push Democratic rival Patrick Lynch out of the campaign. And now, Bill Clinton is coming to town to stump for the candidate.

But don't anoint him governor just yet.

From Congressman Jim Langevin's office:

Congressman Jim Langevin (D-RI), who is quadriplegic, will preside over the US House of Representatives for the first time on Monday, July 26^th. The Speaker’s rostrum on the House Floor has just been made wheelchair-accessible through a series of lifts. This historic event is timed to coincide with the 20^th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

On the cover of the Phoenix, which hits newsstands today, we've got a great first-person account by freelancer Mark Grueter of his friendship with Mikhail Semenko, one of the Russian spies arrested a few weeks back.

Lots of great detail on "Misha," as he was known, and some amusing ruminations on Russia's bumbling spy ring. Highly recommended.

From the secretary of state's office:

This Friday afternoon at the State House, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis will use a borrowed Lottery machine to determine the order in which candidates and political parties will appear on the ballots for the Sept. 14 statewide primary and the Nov. 2 general election.In a scene familiar to Rhode Islanders who watch the state’s daily lottery numbers selected on TV, candidates and parties will be assigned specially calibrated ping-pong balls.

It is a difficult time for Rhode Island's dominant Democratic Party: anti-incumbent sentiment is running high, fealty to party is on the decline, and gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio - for all his strengths - may be a less-than-attractive choice for those on the left of the party, particularly with independent Lincoln Chafee available as an alternative.

WJAR's web site has a notice up about the death of a decades-long presence in the local media:

A member of NBC 10's original newsgathering team has passed away. You may not have seen him on television but you will remember his work.

Frank Wildenhain's first news stories were on silent black and white film, in the early 1950s.

Much has been written about whether Congressional candidate Bill Lynch will benefit from his brother Patrick's decision to drop out of the Democratic gubernatorial primary. But Patrick's decision could have far broader impacts on the political landscape.

To wit: without an expensive, highly contested Democratic primary for governor, candidates for Congress and statewide office have a much better chance of poking through the election-year chatter to reach voters.

A few stray media/politics observations as we kick off the week:

• The Politifact Moment: During last week's Congressional debate, businessman Anthony Gemma paused as he was recalling a statistic to note that Politifact, the ProJo's newish fact-checking service, was in the room and that he'd better get it right. A little indication of how the effort, the local version of a Pulitzer Prize-winning idea out of the St.

An interesting bit of media news today and another reminder of the growing size, and clout, of Rhode Island's Latino community.

Television station CW-28 will launch a Spanish-language subchannel next month known as LATV-Providence. The station, airing drama, comedy, film, sports, and music, will target Latinos age 18-34 - one of the more profitable demographics.