The distant semicolon

How often do you see a semicolon anymore? Even in journalism, a career which usually embraces the punctuation mark has seemed to make it an outcast. Instead of using semicolons to combine sentances, we use improper commas, or form two very short sentences. Has our intellectual society gotten lazy or have people never liked the semicolon? An article in the New York Times explored the subject after featuring an erudite writer for the transit agency had used a semicolon when reminding passengers to put newspapers "in the trash can; that's good news for everyone."

As told by Sam Roberts in a City Room opinion post, the use of the semicolon doesn't just symbolize something that is rarely seen, but also something New Yorkers never do. Pause. The semicolon is meant for a pause, to think about what was just read and what it really means.
Should the semicolon be done away with for good, and only be seen in poetry when readers are meant to stop and ponder?
As a journalism major, I was excited (yes, really) to see a semicolon being used in public, whether subway riders notice or not. Even as a copy editor, I cannot think of a time recently when I would proof articles and encounter one. The use of the semicolon should be embraced. It is still simple and keeps writers from having too short and choppy sentances. Thank you Neil Neches for keeping the semicolon alive in New York.