The American Society of News Editors annual survey of employment at the country’s newspapers is rich in information for journalism job seekers.
First, the news is troubling for anyone who has dreamed of spending a career working at a daily newspaper.
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.
It’s also disheartening to see that minoritiy repesentation in these newsrooms has stagnated at a little more than 13 percent. For African Americans in particular, the news is even more bleak.
In this decade, there has been a net increase of Latino, Asian and Native American journalists and a net decline of Black journalists.
However, it’s also worth noting that the survey reports a 21% rise year-to-year in online-only journalists. According to ASNE, there are now 2,300 working for daily newspaper Web sites; 19.6% of those employees are minorities.
The message for someone looking for work? If you have strong multimedia skills, showcase them – if you don’t – start working to get them now!
Filed under: 08. Producing for the Web, 12. Getting Ready for the Real World |
Advancing the Story 
Excellent post. The more skills you have working online, the better your chances of getting a job.