“I don’t know why anyone would pay for this when you can get it online for free.”

The comment snapped me out of my early morning haze as I was waiting in line outside a very busy Dunkin' Donuts over Labor Day weekend. The voice was coming from a fresh-faced young boy, no older than 11, who had set up a card table outside the coffee shop to sell newspapers to a captive audience of vacationers awaiting our much-needed jolt of caffeine. His words were aimed at a woman who was buying a copy of the Cape Cod Times from him. Seemingly embarrassed by the truth in the boy’s words, the woman mumbled something about not having Internet access at her vacation rental and then quickly got back in line. But his words hung heavily in the air.

At the ripe old age of 11, this young paper boy could easily see one of the fatal flaws of the newspaper industry. His words struck like a death knell for the failing industry.

Cartoon Credit: Houston Chronicle

Dogged by a tsunami of challenges, including an outdated model, the proliferation of the Internet and other news sources and rapidly dropping ad revenues and subscriber bases, the newspaper industry finds itself in the fight of its life.

As a PR practitioner, I have watched for quite some time the downward spiral of the newspaper industry. I have felt, first-hand, the impact of publications closing, short-staffed newsrooms and the loss of relationships with reporters who were casualties of downsizing. But my sense of loss seems to be even more personal than it is professional. As a bit of a news junkie, I admittedly get my daily fix of news from a wide cross-section of media – newspapers, TV, radio and online sites. Yet, I still cherish reading the print edition of the paper – mostly for reasons I can’t quite explain. Perhaps it’s the format and the ability to skim through entire sections, capture headlines and a few snippets of each article so you feel as though you are up to speed on the big stories of the day. Perhaps it’s the smell of the paper or the feel of the ink on your hands. Or, perhaps it’s that sense of accomplishment you feel when you’ve finished the last page.

I know I am not alone. There are many people, like me, who simply cannot fathom a time when we won’t have print papers. Yet, a recent Rasmussen survey published in US News & World Report indicates that many Americans are more apathetic to the change. Two-thirds of American adults (65%) think daily papers won’t exist in 10 years – and that number jumps to a whopping 83% when you ask a younger generation of 18- to 29-year-olds. Like the 11-year-old paper boy, future generations simply don’t see a need for the daily paper. Sadly, nearly a quarter of Americans (22%) say they “will miss nothing” about daily papers when they’re gone.

While the newspaper industry fights for survival and scrambles to find solutions, we must simply wait and see. In the meantime, I plan to focus on cherishing what little time I may have left with my daily paper.

-- Amy Russ, Director