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The journalism industry has been devastated by COVID-19. Hundreds, if not thousands of outlets have been affected by cutbacks. Tens of thousands of workers have been impacted.
Here's a look at the crisis by the numbers w/ @LHarrisWrites (thread 1/12) https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/journalism-crisis-in-2020.php
Here's a look at the crisis by the numbers w/ @LHarrisWrites (thread 1/12) https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/journalism-crisis-in-2020.php
An explosion of newsroom cutbacks happened as the U.S. shut down. Chains made unilateral cuts across ~1,200 outlets in just March. April came and *another* ~800 chain-owned outlets took hits. (2/12)
How do we know that? The Tow Center has been carefully tracking COVID-19 related newsroom cutbacks over the past 9 months:
(3/13) https://www.cjr.org/widescreen/covid-cutback-tracker.php/
(3/13) https://www.cjr.org/widescreen/covid-cutback-tracker.php/
The summer months were more promising. PPP loans for small businesses had kicked in, and we saw a huge drop in cutbacks.
Some prev pay cuts were reversed, many outlets were bringing back furloughed workers, a few even started hiring again. (4/13)
Some prev pay cuts were reversed, many outlets were bringing back furloughed workers, a few even started hiring again. (4/13)
*Worth noting that "better" in 2020 meant "only" 95 outlets had cutbacks. Yeah, it's better than ~2,400 total outlets affected in the spring. But 95 should still be considered a Big Deal. (5/13)
It didn't last long. By the fall, chains started making deep cuts again. Other furloughs turned into perm layoffs. PPP funding had dried up. Ad revenue hadn't picked up and bottom lines weren't being met. (6/13)
That huge bump in October? Almost entirely Gannett. They offered voluntary buyouts for all 21,000 of their employees. ~500 ppl were bought out.
Gannett journos I spoke with worry that these buyouts are a precursor to inevitable layoffs in 2021. (7/13)
Gannett journos I spoke with worry that these buyouts are a precursor to inevitable layoffs in 2021. (7/13)
Those buyouts *also* were offered right before the 2020 elections, one of the most hectic times in newsrooms. Yet, many Gannett journos were facing more existential questions re: their future in this industry. I wrote about it for @TowCenter (8/13)
https://mailchi.mp/79599cd23686/weekly-updates-on-covid-19s-impact-on-journalism-2083205?e=c7c41f679a
https://mailchi.mp/79599cd23686/weekly-updates-on-covid-19s-impact-on-journalism-2083205?e=c7c41f679a
~1 in 4 newspapers in the U.S. are owned by Gannett. They're a hedge-fund backed media giant whose investors expect the profits turned each year to line their wallets. What's the easiest short-term fix, esp in the middle of a global crisis? Cutting outlets to the bone. (9/13)
55 outlets have closed since the beginning of the pandemic. That's 55 communities across the country that are seeing a decrease in information or worse--losing the only local newspaper they had left. (10/13)
It's December and congress *still* hasn't passed a second comprehensive stimulus package since the spring. 300k+ people have died due to COVID. Small businesses are closing left and right--and the news industry is no exception.
We will no doubt see more cuts. (11/13)
We will no doubt see more cuts. (11/13)
What's happening in journalism isn't new; the industry has been shrinking for the past 2+ decades.
Sure doesn't help that social media platforms are making $$ off of news-sharing but don't share that $$ with the ones making the news. (12/13)
Sure doesn't help that social media platforms are making $$ off of news-sharing but don't share that $$ with the ones making the news. (12/13)
TL;DR the journalism industry is in the midst of a crisis within a crisis.
Next year will bring a new set of challenges for everyone, but newsrooms will be forced to adapt as we cont. to search for innovative/sustainable solutions to the news biz. (13/13)
Next year will bring a new set of challenges for everyone, but newsrooms will be forced to adapt as we cont. to search for innovative/sustainable solutions to the news biz. (13/13)
