I spoke Thursday to an inquisitive and interesting group of people at the Kiwanis Club meeting at the Ludlow Bar. Most of my brief presentation, and the discussion afterwards, focused on the future of newspapers. Specifically, how are newspapers going to survive?

Nobody really knows the answer to that question right now. Most people, myself included, believe the fate of newspapers rests in the ability to create revenue from online products.

Meanwhile, newspapers around the country are finding ways to cut costs while they search for new revenue. Some of those cost-cutting measures are in the form of layoffs. Other times, more drastic measures are taken.

Just a few miles and a state border away, The Journal-Standard of Freeport announced Thursday that it is going to discontinue its Monday editions, beginning Feb. 9. The Journal-Standard currently is a seven-day publication.

Having started my career and worked many years at The Journal-Standard, its a disappointing development. I hate to see any newspaper, let alone one so significant in my career and life, have to make that kind of decision. But its happening all around us.

Heck, even the U.S. Post Office this week made public its consideration of cutting service to five days a week. Saturday service could cut, or the day off could come in the middle of the week.

What are your thoughts on newspaper cutbacks nationwide, and of the potential for mail delivery to be five days a week rather than six?