Newspaper chains salivate over Dispatch. (Columbus Dispatch)

The death of Columbus Dispatch patriarch John Walton Wolfe raises the issue of whether some surviving family members might want to sell their interest in the paper.

While the answer to that is not clear, it is clear that shareholders have an extremely valuable property.

Industry analysts last week suggested "Ohio's Greatest Home Newspaper" would fetch at least $200 million and probably more if sold today. However, none interviewed suggested that the Dispatch, the nation's 38th largest daily paper based on circulation, will be sold.

There are, however, some reasons to think it eventually will be. For one, the number of families owning a single daily newspaper is declining, while group or chain …