Media Layoffs & Employment

A new University of Georgia survey of recent degree recipients finds that despite the growing economic ills of the media industry, the job market for 2007 graduates was basically unchanged from a year earlier. And sometimes, the absence of bad news can be good news.

Newspapers are suffering historic cuts in staffing and drops in revenue, while technological advances are creating new opportunities. What is disappearing from newspapers and what is being added?

A newly released book based on four decades of surveys of US journalists finds a profession that is steadily growing grayer, but lagging behind when it comes to integrating women and minorities into the newsroom. This demographic stagnation may well be a reflection of a mainstream media beset by a series of economic woes.

Despite all the problems plaguing the newspaper industry, a new survey reveals that 2005 was the best year since 1999 for college grads with a print journalism degree to land jobs in their field. Thanks to the economic health of local papers and the old media’s transition to cyberspace, a degree in journalism is still a pretty good ticket to a first paycheck.