A new study from the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future states that the majority of newspapers in the USA will cease to exist in printed form within the next five years. The report asked whether America had arrived at a "digital turning point" and examined the role of new, often disruptive, digital technologies in American politics, media, communication and the American lifestyle in general.

The report concluded that, as print circulation continues to drop, most newspapers will suffer, causing them to terminate printing operations altogether. Whether publications stand a chance of maintaining printed editions seems to be a question of size; large organisations, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, could potentially keep their printed editions, whilst local weeklies presumably thanks to their small numbers of staff and dedicated readerships, could also keep their printed editions.

Times are tough for the LA Times as Russ Stanton, who has been editor of the paper for the past four years, is standing down amidst the expectation of more job cuts.

Stanton leaves the news organisation on December 23rd and will be replaced by managing editor Davan Maharaj.

The LA Times published a positive review of Stanton's achievements with the paper, noting that under his leadership the paper extended its digital reach to over 17 million readers and won three Pulitzer Prizes.

Yet the LA Times acknowledges that the past four years have been a rocky period, citing problems caused by contracting newspaper circulation and shrinking advertising revenue. The New York Times provides some sobering statistics: the American newspaper industry saw a 26.2% drop in advertising revenue from 2008 to 2009 and an additional 4.6% decline last year.

The Guardian's new community platform, n0tice, has announced new revenue sharing model that will allow users who set up their own online notice boards to share the advertising revenue generated from their board.

The site allows people to create an online notice board that will link them to the rest of their local community. This board can then become a place to advertise upcoming events, buy or sell goods or just share what's going on in the neighbourhood. The service is free, but it costs approximately £1 per day for the ad to be placed in a featured spot on the site, where it will be displayed to users within a one-mile radius of the advertiser's location. The price increases depending on the advertisement's geographical distribution, the size and how long it is displayed for.

Users who host ads on their notice boards will now be able to claim 85% of the revenue generated by these advertisements, the other 15% going to The Guardian. The revenue can be viewed on the 'admin' tab of a user's notice board and there is an option to send all revenue directly to charity.

The relationship between print and digital is a complex one. 'Digital first' has become a creed for many publications, hoping to ride the wave of technological disruption that has been rippling through the industry for years. Newspapers are obviously proud of their print heritage, but the tendency to put print under the category 'legacy media' doesn't show much faith in it remaining an important medium in years to come.

Yet, despite the often dismissive attitude displayed towards print, many newspapers continue to see the value in their printed product, so much so that they are in fact expanding print operations. Last week The Columbus Dispatch announced it would expand printing operations after Gannett announced it would stop printing in Cincinnati and hand over it's printing obligations to The Dispatch; evidence that while some newspapers are clearly looking to rid themselves of their printing duties, others are growing to take up their roles.