Newspaper jobs continue decline

American daily newspapers shed 5,900 newsroom jobs last year, reducing their employment of journalists by 11.3% to the levels of the early 1980s, according to this report from The American Society of News Editors.

The ASNE has conducted a census of newsrooms since 1978, primarily as a means to measure minority employment among newspaper journalists. It’s recent report found that the percentage of minorities in newsrooms stood at 13.41%, a decline of 0.11% from a year ago.

At the end of 2008 there were 46,700 journalists, including 6,300 minority professionals, on newspaper staffs. The number of minority journalists stands at the level reported in the 1998 census, according to ASNE.

Other facts from the recent ASNE census include:
• The census found 2,300 journalists worked solely online of which nearly 19.6% were minority. ASNE started counting online-only journalists in 2007. Then there were 1,900 online journalists of whom 16 percent were minorities.

• The overall job loss was the largest one-year decline in employment in the history of the ASNE census and followed a drop of 2,400 a year ago. Since a modern era peak of 56,400 reported in 2001, newsroom jobs have decreased by 9,700. The highest employment level in the survey’s history was 56,900 reported in 1990.

• Nearly two-thirds of minorities work at newspapers with circulations exceeding 100,000. The percentage of minorities working at newspapers with more than 500,000 circulation is 17%; 250,001 to 500,000 circulation, 19%; 100,001 to 250,000 circulation now account for 29%.

• Women working full-time in daily newspapers total about 17,300 or 37%. Men total just under 29,400.