Another brutal week for American journalism

Between January and May this year, approximately 3,000 people working in the news industry were laid off or offered a buyout. That’s according to figures compiled by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.—a Chicago-based firm that helps workers find new employment—and reported yesterday in a depressing article by Bloomberg’s Gerry Smith. The industry, Smith writes, is on course for its worst year jobs-wise since 2009. Back then, the Great Recession had hammered the economy across the board; now, with America’s unemployment rate at a 50-year low, journalism is a notable outlier. “In most industries, employers can’t find enough people to fill the jobs they have open,” Andrew Challenger, vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, tells Smith. “In news, it has been the opposite story. And it seems to have been accelerating.” The decline of the media job market, especially in print, is nothing new. But 2019 has been particularly brutal. All job losses are not equal—layoffs are not buyouts are not firings—and different publications have their own specific problems beyond malign, industry-wide revenue trends. Nonetheless, by my rough, incomprehensive count, this year has seen: 200 layoffs at BuzzFeed; 250 layoffs at Vice; 800 layoffs at properties owned by Verizon, including HuffPost and Yahoo; more than 1,000 layoffs or buyout offers at newspapers owned by Gannett, McClatchy, and GateHouse; the loss of every staff writer at the East Bay Express, a California alt-weekly;... Continue reading at 'Columbia Journalism Review'

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2019-07-02 12:07:17 UTC ]
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African-American Booksellers Look For a Turnaround

At first glance, there might not seem much cause for celebrating the future of African-American bookstores during Black History Month. The country’s oldest African-American bookstore, Marcus Books in San Francisco (open for 44 years), is in rough financial straits. The Shrine of the Black... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Week in Children's Apps: February 13, 2014

This week in children's apps, we feature one app that allows kids to travel the world with an international adventurer, two apps that explore the world of the dinosaurs, and another that takes users for a ride with a very famous cat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #takes users


Richard Desmond's Star magazine enters top ten for women's weeklies

Bauer's Closer, Hearst's Best and IPC's Now, and OK! all record double-digit falls, year on yearRichard Desmond's Star magazine has jumped into the top 10 biggest sellers in the women's weeklies market, after reporting a 16.5% sales surge in the second half of 2013.But there were double digit... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest report #digital editions #exact replica #cover price


Rights Report: Week of February 10, 2014

New deals for Samantha Berger, Tom Angeleberger, Kathi Appelt, Jenny McLachlan, and others. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rights report #jenny mclachlan


Market Watch: Week of February 10, 2014

Just as the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back in January following large gains in 2013, the Publishers Weekly Stock Index also got off to a slow start in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #slow start


After a Long Wait, FDA's Latest Anti-Smoking Campaign Arrives Next Week

The Food and Drug Administration is rolling out an ambitious anti-smoking campaign designed to dissuade young people from picking up the habit by appealing to their vanity.DraftFCB is handling creative for the campaign, a two-year, $115 million campaign with the tagline "The Real Cost."... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #long wait #real cost #teen vogue #bus shelters


Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Anansi Boys will be adapted for TV

Author 'really thrilled' that American Gods and Anansi Boys will finally reach the screenTwo Neil Gaiman books are to hit the small screen at last – his 2001 novel American Gods and the sort-of follow-up Anansi Boys.Gaiman confirmed on his journal that American Gods – which up to last November... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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News Briefs: Week of February 3, 2014

Investment group buys Recorded Books and more in this week's publishing news briefs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“India Will Become a Dumping Ground for American Literature”

Literary agent David Godwin predicts that small publishers in India will soon be forced aside by monolithic publishing houses run overseas. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #american literature #small publishers


News Briefs: Week of January 27, 2014

Amazon launches Christian imprint and more in this week's publishing news briefs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Parnassus Books Launches Online Lit Journal

Parnassus Books launches "Musing," an online literary journal featuring author interviews, book recommendations, and bookish news. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book recommendations


International Indie Booksellers Look to Americans for Strategy

Booksellers as far away as New Zealand, Guatemala and Denmark joined the ABA's Winter Institute to talk shop and pick up tips about better bookselling. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is American literature ‘massively overrated’?

British-Chinese author Xialou Guo, who was selected by Granta Magazine as one of Britain's best young novelists and was recently shortlisted for the Orange Prize, criticized American literature and also expressed concern that literature has become too ‘storytelling-driven.’ 'All the poetry, all... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #granta magazine #young novelists #orange prize #expressed concern


Solid First Week for 'Duty'

The memoir of former defense secretary Robert M. Gates has sold more than 80,000 copies during its first week on sale in the outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #nielsen bookscan


Is Anglo-American Literature “Massively Overrated?”

At the Jaipur Literature Festival, UK-based Chinese writer Xiaolu Guo attacked English literature as overrated, while Jhumpa Lahiri praised translation. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Comic Book Heroes Get A Gorgeous Native American Makeover

Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man look truly stunning following a traditional, Pacific Northwest makeover.We all know Batman when we see him, but he always looks a little different, depending on the artist. Whereas in the hands of Dick Sprang, Batman is a barrel-chested 1920s strong man, in the... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers attack 'overrated' Anglo-American literature at Jaipur festival

Xiaolu Guo warns that English-language mainstream has warped a broader 'reading habit', on panel with Jhumpa Lahiri and Jonathan FranzenAmerican literature is "massively overrated", the award-winning author and film-maker Xiaolu Guo told the Jaipur literature festival – and fellow panellist and... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #literary world #greater diversity


News Briefs: Week of January 20, 2014

Coe named president, CEO of B&T and more in this week's publishing news briefs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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This Week in Children's Apps: January 16, 2014

This week in children's apps, we feature apps that take players on journeys with familiar faces – the Berenstain Bears hit the road, the Cat in the Hat explores the rainforest, and Curious George makes his way through the alphabet. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #feature apps #familiar faces #hat explores