Roughly 20 years ago, I walked into the main offices of Gulf Coast Newspapers in Robertsdale. It was just a few weeks after receiving my high school diploma and I was now working for a newspaper, doing the non-illustrious job of developing film.

Yes, this was long before the days of digital cameras, Facebook, Twitter and computerized pagination. The cameras we used produced images on 35 mm film and that film had to be developed and prints had to be made.

This was the epitome of beginning at the ground floor of the newspaper industry.

So many years later, so much has changed, but I can still name just about every editor I have worked for, the best stories I’ve written and the girlfriends who never understood why I had to break a date because of a “big story.”

I have seen the industry I hold so dear go through so many changes in just these two decades. Reporters now are responsible for taking their own photographs, shooting video, tweeting updates and providing commentary on social media sites.

The creation of a newspaper page has gone from using scissors, wax and even tape to high-end computer programs, digital cameras and smartphones.

But through all the changes I’ve seen, and all the challenges newspapers have faced, I have always contended that the printed newspaper will always have a place in our society. To date, nothing has changed that perception.

If you think about it, it’s hard to wrap a fish in a laptop or iPad and rarely do you tear apart your smartphone to use as material to wrap your dishes when moving. Newspapers are so versatile that even when rolled up they serve as “motivation” to your dog to get off the couch.

But to be honest, nothing shook my perception more than the news more than a week ago that Alabama’s three largest newspapers — The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and the [Mobile] Press-Register — would stop producing a daily newspaper in the fall, instead printing just three days a week.

As someone who grew up reading the Press-Register, I found it hard to believe a newspaper of such size and influence would go to printing just on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. What about the high school football stories published every Saturday?

For them, the decision to reduce printing dates and move more to the web was a business decision.

Even though this news caused me great pause — and some dismay — I found myself more confident and enthusiastic about the type of newspaper I find myself working in today — and the type of newspaper I have spent most of my career working for.

The community newspaper — like The Selma Times-Journal — is one that relies on telling local news, telling the stories of our neighbors, our friends and our family members.

Over the past few years, the Times-Journal’s circulation has increased almost double digits, as has the newspaper’s revenue. In business terms, the Times-Journal has never been healthier.

While those daily newspapers will soon be “less than daily,” that is their decision and in no way affects what we do moving forward.

What it does mean — when those papers change over in the fall — is that I will now work for Alabama’s oldest daily newspaper.

That’s something I never thought would happen 20 years ago. Just imagine what will happen in the next two decades.