Everybody who can read is aware that these are not happy times for the newspaper industry. Just last week, it was reported that 24 of the 25 biggest daily newspapers in the country (the exception being the Wall Street Journal) had dropped in circulation over the prior six months by an average of 8.7 percent.

If there was any good news in those numbers, it is in the fact that "the decline was not as steep as it has been," according to Marietta Daily Journal publisher Otis A. Brumby Jr.

Brumby's remarks came at Thursday's meeting of the Marietta Kiwanis Club, at which he was guest speaker.

"When it comes to the future of newspapers, to quote Yogi Berra, 'The future ain't what it used to be,'" Brumby declared.

"The truth is the recession and the Internet have created havoc for many newspapers. Especially larger newspapers that are saddled with a lot of debt and high costs or break even points. Some are in bankruptcy and may be an endangered species," he said.

But the sky is not falling on all newspapers, he reminded.

"Because of our longtime commitment to local news, I can tell you that we are alive and well," he said. "We are a debt free company with very modern equipment and a recently remodeled newspaper plant. Revenues were up and expenses down last year. And revenues, profits and circulation are already up this year and we expect that trend to continue for the remaining eight months of this year.

"The biggest increases and growth, however, has been in our reach and content on the internet. In short, we think we are poised for even greater growth for both the print and internet product when the recession ends."

The MDJ's circulation was up "fractionally" over the past six months, he said, "but a plus is a plus and we expect to keep on growing the rest of the year."

Newspapers are putting ever more of their content on the Internet these days, but the biggest hurdle for the industry is devising a business model where the public will willingly pay for that information.

"The question is how much do you give away on the Internet and how much to you ask readers to pay for," he asked. "As newspapers search for a model to sell internet content, it is often said that the only thing people will pay for on the Internet is pornography. Hopefully that will not be true in years ahead.

"At the MDJ we are currently more concerned about our content than how it will be delivered because now and in the future we intend to deliver news and information any way you want it."

At present, the MDJ delivers its content via traditional newspapers or by delivery to your computer. Soon, it will be delivering news as well via the Smart Phone and new devices like Kindles and iPads.

"But our game plan is still the same. We are writing a daily history of Cobb County," he said. "Local news has always been our bread and butter, and our value is in our local news. The MDJ can't be too local."

One of the MDJ's newer ventures is its video offerings on its Web site, MDJonline.com.

The newspaper's reporters now often go to cover meetings and events armed with high-definition, easily portable flip cams. That "footage" is then uploaded to the site to compliment or supplement our stories.

The newsroom now has other equipment usually associated with TV studios like studio lights and teleprompters. Brumby showed clips from the website, including the swearing-in of new Mayor Steve Tumlin, a town hall meeting with U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta), an interview with U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, and interviews with attendees at the recent Oscar Night event at the Cobb Energy Center for the Performing Arts.

Sports coverage has long been a key part of what the MDJ offers, and that's true on our website as well. We shoot lots of high school sporting events and in the fall produced a twice-weekly webcast program during the football season, including footage from the 21 Cobb high schools we cover. They were sponsored by Pinnacle Orthopedics.

Also, many photos that the print edition lacks room for are now posted online on the site. Parents and others often order prints from the site.

The MDJ Web site also includes a feature that keeps track of how many visitors have clicked on each story. The most popular thus far has been the story "Voodoo Queen," about then-Commissioner Annette Kesting's alleged attempt to hire a voodoo doctor to kill her political opponent, Woody Thompson, with 30,000 "hits."

Meanwhile, the Feb. 13 story about the teen drinking party at the Marietta Country Club has generated 12,000 hits. And the April 23 story, "Cobb to cut 579 teachers" has generated 5,600.

"And as part of our Internet initiative, subscribers can now sign up for our E-edition at no extra charge so they can now read the entire newspaper online - one page at a time - just like the regular newspaper," Brumby said.

It also is available to those who don't want the print edition, and of course, it is available for those who live outside of Cobb and outside our delivery area.

Our E-edition is posted online each day at 6 a.m., which also is the target hour by which all of our newspapers should be delivered.

So, what is the bottom line?

"We are continuing to add new content to our website," Brumby said. "We believe our Internet strategy is working and will ensure the viability of the newspaper for years to come."

Bill Kinney is associate editor of The Marietta Daily Journal.