Newspaper Carrier Day is an important day to celebrate one of society’s forgotten workers– the newspaper carrier. Every day, thousands of newspaper girls and boys get up early and carry heavy bags of newspapers around the streets. They deliver our newspapers before we wake up and few people stop to think about their efforts. In the United States, it honors the first newspaper boy, 10-year-old Barney Flaherty. He started work for the New York Sun newspaper on September 4, 1833. He was the pioneer for all the boys and girls who followed him. Today, many young people top up their pocket money by delivering newspapers. They may be a dying breed because the Internet is causing a drop in newspaper sales.

Perhaps millions of people have been a newspaper deliverer. It used to be a part-time job for kids aged between 13 and 16. The requirement for Barney Flaherty was simple. He had to show that he could throw a newspaper across someone’s garden to reach the front door. This is a typical scene in the movies showing American suburban life. Times are changing and many adults now deliver newspaper from their cars. It has become too unsafe in many cities for children to be on the streets alone before 6.00 a.m. The money to be earned is also changing. In Britain, it is possible to earn around $25 an hour for delivering newspapers. The next time you wake up to see your newspaper on the doorstep, spare a thought for the person who delivered it.

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