One Alabama paper's business model features a chair and cigar box

For almost a century, a single wooden chair has been sitting on the aptly named Rural Street in Evergreen, Ala. Nobody knows exactly how long "the chair," as it's simply and lovingly called, has been there. Most say since at least World War II, or even the 1920s – as long as the Bozeman family has owned it. It's old, and has lost a few slats over the years, but the oak skeleton is still strong enough to support a stack of The Evergreen Courant every week. And on top of those newspapers sits a small black cigar box with a worn label reading "50¢." With no online presence to speak of, the weekly newspaper relies on this honor system to sell copies – though most of its revenue comes from a pool of dedicated subscribers. 

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