When hearing some of the gloom-and-doom forecasts frequently offered about the modern newspaper industry, I am reminded of a quote from Mark Twain.

The year was 1897 and the author of “Tom Sawyer” and other favorites was thought to be near death, when it was actually Twain’s cousin who was ailing.

After learning of the mix-up, Twain responded with the famous words, “The report of my death is an exaggeration” (often misquoted as “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”).

Regardless of the author’s exact words, the point was that Twain was still very much alive, and the same can be said for the newspaper industry in general.

Of course, I would be lying if I said that the industry isn’t going through some tough times, as many others in America are experiencing. Some papers have been forced to switch to an all-digital format, while others have folded altogether, including certain long-running publications in major cities.

There was even talk of a federal bailout for newspapers a couple of weeks back (yeah, like that would really happen).

However, it’s my contention that newspapers, especially community-based ones such as The Mount Airy News, can’t be expected to disappear from the American landscape any more than books will.

Of course, one factor is that in rural areas such as Surry County, there are many residents, especially of the older generation, who don’t own computers or otherwise have access to them. Nor do they even want them in their lives. And let’s face it, computers and the Internet are great informational tools and offer a certain convenience, but they are far from being a necessity — for news or any other function.

Yet perhaps the most important factor that will ensure newspapers’ survival at least on a small-town scale involves the sheer fact that, just like a good novel, a newspaper offers a kind of intimacy. There’s a closeness involved in touching, and reading, a paper which computers never will be able to match.

For example, curling up in your favorite easy chair with the latest newspaper edition (or a good book) is a normal part of life. Curling up in a chair with a computer (even if it’s a laptop) is not practical at all.

There is the quality of being able to hold something in your hand, as opposed to witnessing a digital recreation. We don’t have to worry about a newspaper disintegrating to the touch, like what happens with a computer when its hard drive crashes or the power suddenly goes out.

Plus, with all the great things that the digital world can accomplish, I’ve never heard of anyone placing a computer screen on the refrigerator as you can with a newspaper clipping. And computers don’t fit too well in scrapbooks, either.

Of course, a person can print out a newspaper article from a Web site, but it’s just not the same thing. There is just something more authentic about seeing a bride, a Little League team or a birth announcement on a piece of newsprint rather than a computer printout that someone might have faked for all anyone knows.

A newspaper page, or even a clipping, gives important events a factual feel that makes them seem more a part of history.

Of course, these tough economic times do require newspapers to constantly re-evaluate how they operate and take steps to improve the content and delivery of their product. To ignore the changes that have occurred in the industry would be disastrous, and the goal of every newspaper today should be to make sure it is providing the best coverage it can to readers.

The bottom line is that newspapers are really the only medium that be assured of reaching a mass audience with comprehensive information needed for citizens to exist in today’s society.

And just like we can expect libraries and bookstores to still be around in bad economic times, there is every reason to believe the plug won’t be pulled on newspapers, either.

Tom Joyce is a staff reporter for The Mount Airy News. He can be reached at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or 719-1924.