Many cities in the United States are seeing a certain aspect of our society trend toward a downward spiral.

That would be newspapers.

The newspaper industry is heading toward the ground. The Pittsburgh Tribune Review elected to stop running a print newspaper in December 2016. On July 17, 2017, local newspaper, the Herald-Standard in Uniontown, laid off 36 out of 75 employees.

Out of those 36 employees, three members of the entire photography department were laid off. Now, the Herald-Standard’s employees are taking iPhone and camera pictures. These are reporters taking those pictures.

The difference is truly astounding. There’s nothing against those employees taking those pictures. I was one of the 36 employees laid off this summer, so I have good ties with the reporters and other employees still there.

However, it’s the hard truth about newspapers.

The Herald-Standard isn’t the only newspaper to get rid of their photo department. The Chicago Sun-Times also got rid of their photography department back in 2013. The differences between the covers of the Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, which employs photographers, after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series is baffling.

Newspapers and photography departments seem to be dying. But is the media?

That’s a resounding no. There has been fierce debate to who truly makes up the media, especially when it comes to politics. Do bloggers make up the media? Are they really real journalists?

To me, it depends on the blogger’s credentials and their blog. But that’s not the problem at hand, right now. Currently, newspapers are trying to figure out how to sell newspapers, and keep a hefty staff present in the newsroom.

The media is alive in well, going after news about President Donald Trump, the latest New England Patriots injury and so many other topics. Media isn’t just journalism articles; it’s also breaking news tweets on Twitter, polls, photos and videos.

The media isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but what about newspapers? Sure, your grandparents still might get the local newspaper delivered to their home, but what about younger generations. During my time at the Herald-Standard newspaper, there weren’t too many other young people working in the newsroom.

However, there were a few, and that could make the difference for newspapers in the future. That’s to say, before every other Major League Baseball team owners buy papers and cut half of the staff.