Print newspapers and magazines rely heavily on advertising fees in addition to subscription fees to subsidize the cost of printing and distributing the news each day and week. Unfortunately, the economic slowdown has virtually stopped advertising and forced many newspapers and magazines to shut down their operations after hundreds of years of business.

The Seattle P-I is one of these newspapers that may experience this fate. The 148-year-old newspaper will switch to an online only format and reduce its staff to just 40 employees - 20 reporters and 20 salesmen. However, many are skeptical that an online newspaper can generate enough revenues to support a building and staff of that magnitude.

The failure of Seattle P-I follows that of several other newspapers. Even large publications have sustained huge losses, such as the New York Times. The times has seen its stock price drop from around $25 per share in the middle of 2006 to nearly $4.00 per share in recent days. Eventually, these large newspaper operations are hoping that advertising will pick up once more and sustain them.