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Sunday, Mar. 28, 2021

Have journalism jobs declined significantly over the past 20 years?

Gus Fisher, Gigafact Foundry

yes

More than 25% of U.S. newspapers have shut down since 2004, according to a University of North Carolina study, and many others have cut payrolls in respond to continuing declines in print advertising and circulation revenues. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the number of total newspaper jobs (including all roles, not just news gathering) decreased to 174,000 from 412,000 between the years 2001 and 2016.

Pew Research Center reported an overall 23% decrease in journalism jobs between 2008 and 2019. This decline was primarily attributed to the print news sector, which saw a 51% decrease from 71,000 to 35,000 jobs since 2008. TV, radio and online news saw a 9% increase from 43,000 to 53,000 jobs during the same period.

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