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to work all the time. Then that whole news at our fingertips thing goes by the wayside.

Plus there is the issue of the reporter and the work he or she actually does for a newspaper. The journalist gathers sources, researches topics, conducts interviews, and puts all that information into an article to inform and teach the general public. With the Internet accessible to anyone, I have to wonder whether there will be a market for a journalist to do this job when anyone can post information freely on his or her own.

But I digress. I am a newspaper reporter for a company that covers local news in New Jersey. And, much like so many newspapers around the country in these tough economic times, we are struggling to get subscribers and advertisements - in other words, make money - while we try to continue delivering relevant news to our communities. Every day, I go about my job as I have for the past two years, delivering news about the local government, reporting on fascinating programs and interviewing members of the communities.

I know that will not change if news is completely delivered on the Internet. Reporters will still be needed to conduct interviews and write articles, which will just be published through a different method. Even now, the company I work for has been updating its own Web site, creating a space for breaking news, starting different blogs and establishing its own presence online, all fueled by the work of its reporters.

And that's all well and good. But as more and more opportunities become available online, I have to wonder, where is the market for the old-fashioned newspaper that people held in their hands while sipping coffee in the morning or relaxing in bed after a long day? And where is the market for the individual reporter, doing the research and the interviews, if the Internet allows a regular John Doe to post news on his own private blog?

It's old fashioned, I know, and maybe strange-sounding coming from a young women in her 20s, but, hey, sometimes the classics are always the best - and always worth saving.

Learn more about this author, Audrey Levine.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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