Before college, and before I started studying journalism, I didn't really understand the importance of paying for news. I would see people reading newspapers as a kid, but not really think twice about how that was paid for.

Today, it seems like a lot of people are forgetting the work that goes into providing the public with the latest news. I would even argue that in today's digital age, there's a layer of pressure for journalists to constantly be working on the latest updates, going out into the field and gathering as much information as you can on even tighter deadlines. I can't tell you how many I've been on social media where a news outlet has posted a link to an article with so many comments complaining about how they shouldn't have to pay for to see it, meaning their free limited-number of page views have all been used for the month.

When did news being free become such a broad idea? Reporters are responsible for so much of the information people know about their communities, their countries, and the world.

Those aren't just words on a page or a video on the screen. That's peoples hard work turning into a cohesive story. sometimes even risking their own lives to represent the realities of what is happening outside of our own personal bubbles.

If you don't want to pay for a subscription, there's always local cable or sites you can go to, but please stop complaining that your free pages views for a top-tier newspaper are up for the month. Why should their work be completely free? If you used your monthly free limit, you must appreciate something about it. Basic subscriptions are sometimes $4 a month or less, and if you're a student or academic professional, you get even better rates. It's not that big of a price for the abundance of content you have unlimited access to.

If you appreciate other people's work, and valuable information about what's going on in the world, support journalism, especially local.