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Over the years, I have depended on the internet for my news. It’s free. Lately, I noticed the number of choices shrunk. There are less free sites and many of the more popular sites are discovering ways to either have me register with my email address or offering digital paid subscriptions.

For one reason or another, I knew this was eventually going to happen. News sites, just like newspapers, have staff, facility and other costs. The ads on the sites bring in a certain amount of revenue but charges for digital subscriptions would increase revenue.

This could help cover costs and possibly result in a site becoming profitable. The downside could be the loss of readers reducing ad revenue.

The circulation of newspapers has been particularly hurt by the internet and other news sources that I don’t even consider news sources. Rural newspapers have been hurt the worst with many shutting down. I get much of my local and national news and weather reports from WITN-7 and WNCT-9. WRAL.com is a good choice for state news but is liberally biased.

Newspapers across the country are offering digital subscriptions. The New York Times is the largest with 9.4 million subscribers. Subscriptions start as cheaply as a dollar a week for a year and go to $25 every four weeks at the end of the year. A come on, that appears to be working but I’d cancel after a year.

The Wall Street Journal is in second place with 3.5 million subscribers and Washington Post third at 2 million.

In North Carolina, The News & Observer has the largest print circulation, 68,000 daily and 85,000 Sunday, and 25,000 paid digital subscribers according to various sources. Many newspapers across the state offer digital subscriptions.

It’s obvious; the largest newspapers such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have figured out ways to prosper and grow on the internet. They are national and have increased their availability, influence and circulation through digital subscriptions.

Even in large market cities like Philadelphia, The Inquirer’s 98,000 digital subscriptions, can’t compete with the large national players. The digital subscription circulation of the Philadelphia Inquirer surpassed the print edition in 2022. In 1968, the Inquirer had a daily circulation of 648,000 and 905,000 on Sunday. The hay days of the large city newspapers are mostly gone.

A report on local newspapers revealed that 2,627 weekly newspapers have gone out of business or merged with other newspapers between 2004 and 2023. The number of non-daily newspapers fell approximately from 7,400 to 4,800 during that period. The number of daily newspapers has also shrunk during the same period.

I believe local newspapers are important and I would be upset if our newspaper disappeared. Local news is important. When I last subscribed to the Washington Daily News I decided to do it with a digital subscription.

I actually love it. I don’t have to hold a newspaper or magazine in my hands anymore. I love my laptop. Not only can I read articles, I can save articles on the computer and search the newspaper database for articles about subjects that I might have missed.

I believe the Internet has become the home for my reading material.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.