Archive - May 23, 2009 - Story

The top three reasons why so many recent grads are taking a gap year to volunteer before diving into a career.

Even with the breeze floating through the open front door, the warm, sticky air hangs heavy over the line of people that winds around the room. Filled with people both young and old, the line slowly creeps its way around the tiny store, each person anticipating their escape from the claustrophobic mayhem inside.

With the raise of his hand, no one dares make a peep-this is live. During the 20-second countdown, Craig Shank glances quickly around the desk that surrounds him, checking every blinking light and fader. He gets comfortable in his chair and adjusts his headphones to fit just so.

"In 1981, there were 60 million weekday newspaper readers. Now that statistic is less than 50 million. Essentially in 2 years--with the population growing--the amount of people reading newspapers will have declined substantially," said Smart Money magazine writer Russell Pearlman.