Are newspapers going to start failing soon?

[PastTense]

There is now another chain: the largest in the U.S. Gannett which is going to split into separate newspaper and broadcasting chains:
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/08/05/gannett-to-spin-off-its-print-business/

[Roderick_Femm]

@The_Second_Stone

The San Francisco Chronicle has been doing bang up work on exposing corruption at CalTrans and the Public Utilities Commission, but I don’t think that will save the paper, which shrinks every quarter. It is a great public service, but it isn’t paying.

Actually, not to give away too much, but it is. Paying, I mean.

[Diceman]

@PastTense

There is now another chain: the largest in the U.S. Gannett which is going to split into separate newspaper and broadcasting chains:
Gannett, Owner of USA Today, to Split Its Print and Broadcast Businesses - The New York Times

I think Gannett owns the Detroit Free Press. Or rather, they did.

[Tapioca_Dextrin]

@Julius_Henry

A related question, so I hope not a hijack, but are journalism schools still doing well? They were when I was in college, but that was the 70s and everyone had seen All The President’s Men. A few of them might have even read the book.

I heard an article on NPR about this a few years ago. They claimed that there are around 65,000 journalism graduates every year. And there are roughly 65,000 journalists in the US.

[PastTense]

There is a question I have:

1. When I look at the pictures of the journalists at a newspaper I read online the vast majority look young. [Anyone else see this?]
2. But with newspapers contracting every year I would expect older journalists to be hanging on for dear life and there wouldn’t be any jobs for young people.

Thoughts?

[Red_Wiggler]

@PastTense

There is a question I have:

1. When I look at the pictures of the journalists at a newspaper I read online the vast majority look young. [Anyone else see this?]
2. But with newspapers contracting every year I would expect older journalists to be hanging on for dear life and there wouldn’t be any jobs for young people.

Thoughts?

Younger reporters are cheaper reporters. Most (not all, some smaller ones in the right places remain surprisingly profitable) newspapers have gone through some amount of downsizing in recent years. Buyouts of older employees have been fairly common.

Plus it was always a very tough industry to do well in financially. On the news side, the national pyramid of positions narrowed very quickly. For every talented, long time columnist or super sleuth investigative reporter at a major metro, there are hundreds of 20 and 30somethings covering town council meetings in the boonies. Most move on to something else long before hitting the big leagues. Not all, though; the damn business has a way of getting in your blood.

[Trom]

@Red_Wiggler

Younger reporters are cheaper reporters. Most (not all, some smaller ones in the right places remain surprisingly profitable) newspapers have gone through some amount of downsizing in recent years. Buyouts of older employees have been fairly common.

Plus it was always a very tough industry to do well in financially. On the news side, the national pyramid of positions narrowed very quickly. For every talented, long time columnist or super sleuth investigative reporter at a major metro, there are hundreds of 20 and 30somethings covering town council meetings in the boonies. Most move on to something else long before hitting the big leagues. Not all, though; the damn business has a way of getting in your blood.

My sister is a reporter for a metro newspaper, and this was pretty much her experience. The paper’s employees were unionized and the company was going through bankruptcy. The older employees were bought out, and she held on by the skin of her teeth because she was the cheap, young labor.

[Diceman]

@PastTense

There is a question I have:

1. When I look at the pictures of the journalists at a newspaper I read online the vast majority look young. [Anyone else see this?]
2. But with newspapers contracting every year I would expect older journalists to be hanging on for dear life and there wouldn’t be any jobs for young people.

Thoughts?

I’ve noticed something similar with radio stations. In recent years, several local stations have ditched longtime, popular radio personalities and gotten new (usually younger) people. I’m pretty sure what’s going on is the radio stations want to cut their payroll expenses, and the radio personalities who won’t accept pay cuts are getting the axe, to be replaced with cheaper talent.