Reflections of a Newsosaur
Alan Mutter says his figures confirm suspicions that newsrooms have been hit harder than other departments at newspaper companies. He figures that a fifth of the 3,775 job losses that Paper Cuts counted in 2011 came from newsrooms.
With the ASNE reporting that 52,600 journalists were on the job in 2007, then the projected newsroom headcount at the end of this year would be 22% lower than it was in 2007. In other words, the decline in newsroom employment has been twice as great since 2007 as the 11% drop in over-all industry employment. This also means … that newsroom staffing now is at the lowest level since the ASNE inaugurated its newsroom census in 1978.
Some notable staff cuts in 2011:
- February:Â Most TBD.com jobs being eliminated
- June:Â 700 laid off from Gannett’s newspaper division
- September: Report: Dallas Morning News laid off 38 employees on Tuesday
- October:Â New York Times offers buyouts for third time in four years
- November:Â 543 to be laid off in Michigan as Booth Newspapers shifts to digital;Â Bay Area News Group cuts 34 newsroom positions
- December:Â Media General lays off 16 percent at Tampa Tribune and community newspapers
More news on staff cutbacks can be found on Poynter.org and Paper Cuts. || Related: Journalists are the 99 percent too, says new Tumblr (Poynter) | What great bosses know about how to manage downsizing’s aftermath (Poynter)
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