This week marked the end of an era.

Though, some might say it marked the beginning of a new one.

Whether or not you’ve ever read the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the paper’s official closure brings about a feeling of mourning.

Print operations ceased Tuesday, capping 146 years of history, 146 years of reading the paper with a morning’s cup of coffee and 146 years of tradition. Although the paper will continue an online presence, that is all that will remain of the state’s oldest daily newspaper. The Seattle P-I’s closure follows that of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain News — another historic newspaper downtrodden by hard times.

We live in an age of new technology where people want their information and they want it now. Every step we take is accompanied by a new gadget or gizmo that can do 150 functions at the click of a button. But before this technological whirlwind started, it was all about sitting down, picking up the paper and catching up on the community and its happenings.

Even today, with our iPods, Blackberries and Twitter updates, there is still that one source of information with faces and bylines to back the stories — the printed word of journalists. And while it’s important to move forward with technology, it’s just as important to provide readers with a solid, informative print edition.

Every newspaper in the country, whether it be a weekly or a daily, is feeling the pressure of the current economic state. While some will accompany the economy in its downward spiral, others will adapt and change with the times. Fortunately for weekly newspapers, we are the latter. While we are all connected by one industry, you will find the weeklies holding their own — although not without having to weather the storm like everyone else — and standing true to a long tradition of community news.