It's no secret that newspapers are in trouble. Circulation is dropping, ad revenue is shrinking, and as a result the industry has experienced an unprecedented wave of layoffs, cutbacks, bankruptcies and even the complete shutdown of some papers. The big question now is, what does the future hold? Can newspapers survive, or are they bound to become web-only operations or disappear entirely? Here you can find articles on why papers are faring so poorly, how they - and the journalists who work for them - can adapt to changing times, and ways in which individual papers are being affected.

•Will the Internet Lead to the Demise of Printed Newspapers?

Newspapers have experienced circulation declines for years, but with the rise of the internet a kind of perfect storm has formed that seems ready to devastate the industry. Why are newspapers in such decline, and will the internet be the nail in the coffin of printed papers? No one knows for sure, but what's clear is that newspapers must find a new business model in order to survive.More »

•Five Things That Are Lost When Newspapers Close

Some say the daily paper is as outdated as the eight-track tape. The problem is this: There are many things newspapers do that simply can't be replaced. Papers are a unique medium in the news business and can't be easily replicated by TV, radio or online news operations.More »

•How Do Newspapers Survive? By Changing, Murdoch Says

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch says the obituaries for newspapers are premature. Papers aren't dead, Murdoch says, but they must change to meet the needs of 21st century news consumers. The News Corp. CEO says newspapers must evolve from ink and paper to "news brands" that can be delivered in a variety of ways. Murdoch says people are "hungrier for information than ever before," and papers have an edge over bloggers because they are more trusted.More »

•Print Journalists Must Learn New Skills

Newspaper reporters and editors, like their manufacturing brethren, must learn the new skills required in an uncertain new age. In this brave new world, journalists are going to have to become independent, or at least semi-independent, entrepreneurs, using the Web to tell their stories on their own, employing the rich array of multimedia resources available. And to their credit, many journalists seem to understand this.More »

•Local TV Newscasts Are No Substitute for Local Newspapers

On many local TV newscasts, about all you'll find is cops-and-robbers crime reporting. Left out is in-depth reporting on issues like underperforming public schools, inner-city poverty and the human impact of plant closings and layoffs. If you want to know how your hometown will be affected by such issues, chances are you won't find that on local TV news. For those stories, you need a good local newspaper.More »

•Tribune Co. Files For Bankruptcy

When the Tribune Co., parent firm of the storied Chicago Tribune, filed for bankruptcy, it was the most serious sign yet of the troubles facing the newspaper industry. The company - which owns 23 TV stations and 12 newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times and the Baltimore Sun - had been saddled with a mountain of debt since owner Sam Zell took the company private last year. In a memo to Tribune employees, Zell called the circumstances that led to the filing "the perfect storm. A precipitous decline in revenue and a tough economy have coupled with a credit crisis, making it extremely difficult to support our debt. All of our major advertising categories have been dramatically impacted.More »

•Seattle Post-Intelligencer Up For Sale; Sun-Times Mulls Outsourcing Jobs

More bad news on the print journalism front came when the Seattle Post-Intelligencer announced it had been put up for sale by parent company Hearst Corp. The owners said if a buyer didn't step forward, the paper would become a web-only operation or be closed entirely. Meanwhile, the Chicago Sun-Times is reportedly considering outsourcing 25 to 30 copy editing and layouts jobs to India.More »

•Community Newspaper Chain Thrives Even in Hard Times

Many daily papers are going under, but Canadian publisher David Black's chain of small community newspapers is thriving in Washington state. In addition to having a lean-and-mean business model, the success of Black's chain stems from the fact that community newspapers provide the kind of ultra-local coverage that is hard to find elsewhere, especially in rural areas and suburbs.More »

•Amid The Grim Industry News, Some Hopeful Signs

Newspapers may be at death's door, but there are still plenty of things readers seem to like about them. For instance, less than a week after combining its news content into a single section, The Tampa Tribune reversed course, promising to offer two sections of news and a classified section. Why? the paper fielded some 3,000 calls from readers who liked the separate sections just the way they had been. The Staten Island Advance, meanwhile, received about 1,500 reader complaints when the paper dropped its Sunday TV supplement to cut costs.More »

•With News Business in Crisis, What Do Journalism Professors Tell Students?

Falling ad revenue. Plunging profits. Layoffs. Downsizing. Bankruptcy filings. The news in the news business can’t get any worse. Some days it seems as if those who write the first draft of history have little in the way of a future. So what are journalism professors, those charged with grooming the next generation of reporters, editors and producers, telling their students these days about the news business in general, and print journalism, that seemingly most endangered of species, in particular? “I'm telling my students to find a new profession,” says journalism Professor Tony Chan of the University of Washington at Seattle. But others are more optimistic.More »

•Circulation Up? Ad Revenues Increasing? Look At The Global Perspective

Here's something you don't hear every day: Newspaper circulation rose 2.57 percent in 2007. Over five years, it increased 9.39 percent. Before you tell me I'm delusional, let me explain. Those figures come from a World Association of Newspapers report, and reflect figures for the newspaper industry worldwide. WAN also reports that when free dailies are added to the paid newspaper circulation, global circulation rose 3.65 percent last year, and 14.3 percent over the past five years. Ad revenues in paid dailies were only up 0.86 percent last year, but have risen 12.84 percent over five years, WAN said. And get this: Print remains the world’s largest advertising medium, with a 40 percent share.More »