Obituary for a career and an industry

Washington Post reporter Stephen C Fehr writes about leaving the newspaper after accepting an early retirement package:

When historians look back at the challenges that American newspapers faced in the early years of the 21st century, they will no doubt center on how the Internet competed with newspapers to deliver information. They will chronicle the declines in circulation and advertising revenue that led so many news organizations to trim their staffs. In The Post’s case, the newspaper lost $77 million in print advertising revenue last year but gained only $6 million in online advertising revenue.

I hope the historians will also write about some of the people who were swept aside by this revolution in technology. People like me.

All I ever wanted to do was work at a newspaper. When I was in second grade in Southern California, the boys would play kickball at recess. Afterward, I would draw a nameplate, headline and box score on a sheet of paper and write an account of the game that I would pass around in class.