Zero

If the Athens Messenger were to cease publication, Athens would technically be without a daily newspaper. It's a strange thought, since the town is also served by The Post, The Athens News, an NPR affiliate, and a few student run magazines. The town of 6,000 residents and 20,000 students is blanketed with coverage, often with a limited amount of interesting news.

Last week, Ann Arbor lost its only daily paper. The Ann Arbor News, which published for 174 years and had 60 editorial employees in the spring (now half that), will continue to update its Web site. Counting college students, there are about 75,000 more people who live in that Michigan city than Athens. It's always a shame to see a paper fold, especially when it's the only one in a large town. Trenton, San Francisco and Miami are just three cities that could see that same fate.

The difference is none of those are college towns, like Athens and Ann Arbor. So maybe this is another example of my half-full outlook toward newspapers, but it might not be so bad. If Ann Arbor is anything like Athens, and with the huge population difference, it might not be, the students can handle covering a town that relies on students for most everything else. I know from looking at college papers before enrolling at OU that they have a fine student newspaper.

The 'Mess, "Athens' eyes and ears for over 180 years" (despite the lack of AP style on over/more than), has a circulation of about 15,000 and doesn't break a lot of news these days. Should Athens ever became a zero daily paper town, I think it'd be more symbolic than anything else.

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Rest in Peace, Ann Arbor News