As I was browsing the web, I came across this MediaWeek article about jobs in the newspaper industry. It gave some statistics regarding the mounting lay-offs that have been taking place.
Rick Edmonds, an analyst with the Poynter Institute, estimated that 5,000 newsroom jobs will be eliminated. This number is more than twice the amount of news jobs that were lost last year.
The Dallas Morning News, the Providence Journal, and the Houston Chronicle are among the many papers cutting jobs in order to weather financial storms. The struggling economy, along with the recent shift to new media over print papers, has been causing some hardships at publications across the country.
Another article, this time from the Jacksonville Business Journal, highlights these declining trends in the industry.
The Florida Times-Union is published by the Morris Publishing Group, a company that operates 26 other newspapers. This year, they reported earnings that were only half of what they made last year!
"We continue to operate in a declining advertising environment, particularly in Jacksonville, our largest market," said CEO William S. Morris IV. "The downturn in the Florida real estate market has adversely impacted not only our classified real estate category, but also many of our other advertising categories dependent on the housing industry."
Veteran reporter Richard Hendrickson said this about the future of journalism in a shaky economic world:
"We'll always need journalists - people to gather, write and present information," says Hendrickson, who now teaches at John Carroll University. "I'm a little concerned that we won't always be able to pay for it. I'm telling kids to learn all [they] can, because you might not be able to get a job as a beat reporter on the local paper. But people will retire and move on. There will be openings here and there. The smart publishers will find a way to bring new blood and keep the veteran mentors. The others will lose."
Despite the hard times that the industry is currently going through, I know for a fact that journalism will always be around. As long as people are living, things are going to happening around the world. And as humans, we have inquisitive, curious minds. We want to know what's going on. We want to be informed.
That is why the world will always need journalists -people to inform them, educate them, show them what is happening around the world. However, I do think that the style and manner in which news is presented will definitely change.
When I transfer to journalism school to complete my degree, I plan to take as many digital media/Internet electives as I can. Aspiring journalists need to be well-versed in every aspect of communication, because that is the way we can help ourselves be competitive in an ever-shrinking job market.
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5 comments:
Every time I hear of the slow painful deaths of "dead tree" publications I can't help, but feel sorry for them.
The dwindle of "dead tree" popularity reminds me of sad movies like "Fried Green Tomatoes" and "The Notebook."
Watching online media resources swamp the "dead trees" reminds me of small ma and pa stores desperately fighting for a a small breath of competitive air in the sufficating presence of WAL-MART.
I have bitter-sweet feeling towards this change. I like visiting with ma and pa when I buy groceries, but WAL-MART is so dang cheap. So I shop there. I can't help it!
Likewise the faster and more affordable serpentlike online media is slowly strangling the "dead trees."
I feel bad for the writers and the traditions of the past, but I read news online. Its faster. I can't help it!
Sadly 2 say, but everything that you wrote about is true. I had the privilege of attending an open forum that included a panel of expert guest in the media and communication field. One thing that the experts emphasized the most is that you really have to have a passion to work for the media because the salary is not fascinating.
It is hard for me to imagine the newspaper industry dying. I was always the girl to get up out of bed, turn off the alarm, run to the front door and put on dad's big flip flops, and skip to the road to pick up the Florida Times Union. There is something about holding the news and being able to read it rather than holding a laptop or sitting in front of a computer and reading on the screen. Also, I find it harder to do the weekly Sudoku online!
It is times like this when I think of the words of advice coming from parents, teachers, and even friends: "Always have a backup plan."
I wonder how many of these journalists will be out of a job, unable to find something that will weather them through this difficult economic time. I personally have a backup plan. Journalism is my major; however, I have no desire to work in the industry as a life career at this present time. For those who do, I wonder what opportunities will exist. Hopefully this cloudy economic situation will pass by quickly, and the sun will begin to shine again.
You are absolutely right. As long as there are people around there will always be journalism. It's very sad to think that print news is dwindling but we must keep up with the ever changing technology. I hate to hear about the lay offs especially with the job market being as awful as it is right now. I guess we are just going to have to work on keeping up with media as much as the media keeps up with the public.
It is unfortunate but, that's how it is.
Sales are lower than ever, ads are down because of the real estate market and companies are reluctant to to pay for ad space when so few people are going to see the ads.
The industry is struggling for multiple reasons and jobs are becoming scarce. As you and I discussed earlier today, this is why I changed my major last semester.
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