5,900 fewer newsroom jobs this year
Add comment April 17th, 2009
Just got an e-mail from the American Society of Newspaper Editor’s with this first paragraph: “American daily newspapers shed 5,900 newsroom jobs last year, reducing their employment of journalists by 11.3 percent to the levels of the early 1980s.” The e-mail linked to this press release that details findings from its annual census of U.S. newsrooms.
Our newsroom, too, has fewer bodies than it did last year when we had two rounds of layoffs. It’s a tough time for our industry, and there’s no sign that the situation will improve any time soon. It’s hard for me, though, to be down. I am proud of what we do here, and I am optimistic about the future of our business. Sure, what we’re doing five years from now is not going to be like it is today. Our business isn’t like it was 20 years ago either. Got me thinking about that blog post I read a couple weeks ago. The difference between now and then is the business model needs to change much faster.
