More Than a Quarter of Big Newspapers Had Layoffs in 2018

More than a quarter of large newspapers had layoffs in 2018, according to latest data from the Pew Research Center, which confirms what is already known: This is a bad time for the industry. 27% of U.S. newspapers with an average Sunday circulation of 50,000 or more experienced at least one publicly reported layoff in 2018, according to analysis of a new study. Yes, that’s lower than 2017, when layoffs hit 32% of newspapers in that circulation range, 9%of the papers that fell into that range in those years saw layoffs both times. Also Read: US Newspaper Circulation Fell Last Year to Lowest Level Since 1940 (Report) Earlier this month, Pew analysis found that the number of newsroom jobs at newspapers has declined 47% in the last decade. There was a reported 82% increase in digital-native newsroom positions totaling about 6,100 jobs, which the center pointed out at the time does little to offset the loss of 33,000 newspaper newsroom jobs. Newspaper circulation reached its lowest point since 1940 in 2018, according to an assessment of the news media earlier last week. Downward trends in news media, especially at newspapers, have underscored the need for creative solutions. Some outlets have...