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Roy Peter Clark at Poynter posted a column that states it’s journalists’ duty to pick up a daily newspaper to support journalism.

I understand the sentiment and wish for newspapers’ long success. But I respectfully disagree with Clark’s premise - It is not my duty to buy a print newspaper.

I grew up asking my parents to subscribe to the paper so I could read it when I came home form school and on the weekends. I loved the paper, but as I grew up, I found myself distancing more and more from it.

Maybe this is age relevant

I’m 26. My age matters because it also says something about who is reading newspapers and why. I seek news that I want to read. I want targeted news, that interests me. I became more and more disinterested with reading the paper while growing up because I often came away with dirty fingertips and a lot of stories read that didn’t matter to me.

In 9th grade, was I going to talk to my schoolmates about some city council budget that was passed in my neighboring town. Doubtful? Where was the news I cared about?

Is it my duty now to read the newspapers? Again, no. For many in my age bracket, the answer is no.

While I do appreciate that newspapers still support the bulk of online sites, and I also know online revenue hasn’t caught up with that of print advertising revenue, saying that I must buy the print product to support the current business model is ridiculous. If a business model is failing, it’s not up to the employees to save it. It’s up to the higher-ups to find something that works better.

Let’s take AOL for an example.

When the internet was in its infancy, many people around the U.S. had services like AOL to get email, surf the web, whatever. Then along came independent ISPs and browsers. Consumers changed and wanted more access to the internet. AOL realized it had to alter its business model or it would go under. So did AOL tell it’s employees make sure they paid for AOL service so they could stay afloat? I doubt it. AOL surely isn’t the powerhouse it once was, but it’s still surviving.

Newspapers can survive too

As a consumer, it doesn’t make sense for me to go for a less-desirable product. Why should I limit myself or put down the money I earn on a product I most likely won’t use?

Like media mind Steve Yelvington says: Stop blaming the Internet for newspapers’ decline!

Print journalists need to continue getting recognition in the digital age, but to do that, those journalists must change as well. Those that practice journalism must change with the times, or risk losing readers. Musicians do this all the time, reinventing their sound to appeal to new audiences.

Why do musicians change when fans often wish they wouldn’t? So they can keep selling records!

It’s not journalists who need to change their spending and reading habits to support the business model. It’s the business side that needs to change to support journalism.

Ask me for ways to change journalism to support it and offset declining print revenues - I don’t know. I’m not a business person. But this is a capitalist society. If there’s a buck to be made, someone will find out how to do it.