Number of US newspaper newsroom employees down sharply – survey

US newspapers. AFP

WASHINGTON, United States – The number of employees in US newspaper newsrooms has declined by 45 percent over the past decade, according to a survey published on Monday.

US newspaper newsroom employees fell from 71,000 in 2008 to 39,000 in 2017, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures cited by the Pew Research Center.

The decline in the number of newspaper newsroom workers was the biggest contributor to an overall drop in newsroom employment in the United States, Pew said.

The overall number of employees working in newsrooms — newspapers, radio, cable and broadcast television and digital media outlets — fell 23 percent over the period, from 114,000 in 2008 to 88,000 in 2017.

“Of the five industries studied, notable job growth occurred only in the digital-native news sector,” Pew said.

The number of digital-native newsroom employees increased by 79 percent over the period, from about 7,400 in 2008 to about 13,000 in 2017, it said.

Pew said the number of broadcast television newsroom employees — 28,000 — remaining relatively stable from 2008 to 2017 as did the number of people working in cable television newsrooms — about 3,000.

Radio newsrooms, however, lost about 27 percent of their employees from 4,600 in 2008 to 3,300 in 2017, Pew said.

US newspapers have been hit by waves of layoffs over the past decade amid steep falls in circulation and advertising.

Last week, the New York Daily News, the century-old tabloid known for its provocative headlines, announced it was slashing half its editorial staff. /cbb