"What's black and white and (read) all over?"

It's one of the oldest jokes around, and of course, the punch line is "a newspaper." Now, that industry is a punch line of a different sort. Newspapers were once the king of all media, with two papers or more competing in almost all of the larger cities in the nation into the 1980s. But times have certainly changed, and newspapers are struggling to keep up.

Daily papers in Seattle and Denver closed earlier this year, and massive layoffs have shrunk newspaper staffs throughout the country. More than 15,000 newspaper employees lost their jobs in 2008, and more than 10,000 have already lost their jobs this year, according to the blog "Paper Cuts".

Time Magazine devoted a cover story earlier this year to saving newspapers, but in reality, the death of newspapers — or at least their content — has been greatly exaggerated. Revenue may be down at newspapers, but readership is up.

Newspaper Internet sites continue to see a jump in hits, and many papers get a million hits or more on their websites each day. They can also use the Internet to track which stories or trends create the most interest, and will continue to use those kinds of successful stories to increase Web traffic.

Many of the most well-read features are inspiring stories that get people talking. Editors often ask during daily budget meetings which reporters have uplifting stories that will counterbalance crime and other unpleasant news that can crowd a front page.

And therein lies the opportunity for you to garner media coverage. With focused pitches and well-written releases that engage an audience, you can attract the attention of newspapers trying to fill online and print pages with reduced staff.

But they have to sell their stories, and make sure those newspapers have the kind of resources they need to succeed. Newspaper reporters appreciate exclusive, new ideas that will interest their primary audience, instead of email blasts directed at faceless media.

At a recent roundtable gathering of print media and PR professionals in Charlotte, a primary topic of conversation was how newspapers can maintain large volumes of content with much smaller staffs. The consensus was that well-crafted pitches and press releases make it easier (and more likely) to get the story out, no matter how much staffing remains at newspapers in the coming years.

And that's no joke.