Newspapers can't keep distributing content for free on Web

[Commentary] What will it take? How will journalism survive? News has simply become too accessible to pay for without a concerted effort. Free quick reads on the train, full pages by front desks at hotels, and, of course, news always available online. Silently skimming off Google's AP content and other major news outlets' Web sites, where advertising tries in vain to offset the cost of reportage, my generation, and many around us, have failed to recognize the part each of us has played in the death of American journalism. The news industry is in collapse; a critical piece of successful democracy is in jeopardy. Unless you trust blogs to accurately and consistently report news, or trust government and business to be completely forthcoming with their misdeeds, you ought to recognize the free ride you've been on and stand to pay your fare. (Brian Till, one of the nation's youngest syndicated columnists, is a writer for Creators Syndicated. He also is a research associate for the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington.)