Newsroom employment has plummeted since 2008, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of people employed in newsrooms fell from 114,000 in 2008 to just 85,000 in 2020—a 26 percent decline. Pew defines newsroom employment as reporters, editors, photographers, and videographers who work for newspapers, radio, broadcast television, cable, and "other information services" (digital-native news publishers).
Newspapers dominated newsroom employment in 2008. But employment at newspapers fell by a whopping 57 percent between 2008 and 2020. Consequently, the newspaper industry is just a shadow of its former self. At the other extreme, the number of newsroom employees who work in the digital-native industry has more than doubled and now accounts for 21 percent of the total.
| 2020 | 2008 | % change | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 84,640 | 100.0% | 114,260 | 100.0% | -26% |
| Newspapers | 30,820 | 36.4 | 71,070 | 62.2 | -57 |
| Broadcast TV | 29,700 | 35.1 | 28,390 | 24.8 | 5 |
| Digital-native | 18,030 | 21.3 | 7,400 | 6.5 | 144 |
| Radio | 3,360 | 4.0 | 4,570 | 4.0 | -26 |
| Cable TV | 2,730 | 3.2 | 2,830 | 2.5 | -4 |
