Newspapers across the country are struggling to maintain revenue in the face of the internet and other new media.  Now Austin’s main newspaper, the American-Statesman is facing an uncertain future.

Associate Publisher Michael Vivio remains confident about the Statesman’s value, even as over 900 employees now wonder about their jobs.

“Our people will respond.  We'll get the paper out tomorrow and serve the needs of the community,” he said.  “Obviously it put our future into uncertainty."

Despite the fear, Vivio says the Statesman is strong with 600,000 daily readers, nearly a million web hits a day and a 76,000 square-foot addition set to open in January.

The paper’s owner, Cox Enterprises, says the Statesman is one of several papers being sold to eliminate debt.

Experienced newspaper journalist and University of Texas professor Bill Minutaglio says news and classifieds on the internet are devastating newspapers across the country.

"Craigslist has taken away really the bedrock of American newspapers, which is classified advertising,” he said.

Minutaglio now wonders if a prediction he read about, a major city without a newspaper, could be closer to reality.

 “I’m not saying that’s going to happen here, but it's unsettling,” he said.  “There is only one major newspaper in Austin, and for it to be sold, it makes you wonder what the future is going to hold."

Vivio says the Statesman will continue meeting the challenges of today while planning for tomorrow.

"We are constantly looking for ways to better serve readers and to be innovative and do things in a different way and that will continue,” he said.

The Statesman is expected to have a new owner by March of next year.