was in 2005, and once again, when the Newspaper

Association of America issued its revenue report for

2013, the numbers were grim.

In a carefully-worded press release, the NAA said the

newspaper industry’s business model was “evolving,” and

highlighted that circulation revenue recorded the second

consecutive year of growth, rising 3.7%

to $10.87 billion. But the growth in

circulation revenue is primarily coming

from erection of digital paywalls which

Media Life magazine notes are designed

to “help offset some of the steep declines

in print advertising that have been seen

over the years.” Media Life says about

500 of the roughly 1400 remaining

daily papers in the country now have

paywalls in operation, and digital-only

subscriptions grew by 47% last year.