The news about the news business is getting grimmer
Even by the standards of a news company whose fortunes have plummeted in the digital age, the past few weeks have been particularly bleak for American journalism.
Prominent newspapers like The Washington Post are shedding reporters and editors, and on Tuesday The Los Angeles Times laid off more than 20 percent of its newsroom. Cable news ratings have fallen due to an uncompetitive presidential primary. Prized titles like Sports Illustrated, which were already a shadow of their former selves, have been gutted overnight.
As Americans prepare for an election year full of disinformation wars, AI-generated agitprop, and a debate over the future of democracy, the mainstream news industry—once the de facto watchdog and facilitator of public debate—is struggling to stay afloat.
The pain is especially pronounced at the community level. On average, five local newspapers close every two weeks Medill School of Northwestern University, with more than half of all U.S. counties now so-called news deserts with limited access to news about their hometowns. Of the 1,100 public radio stations and affiliated radio stations, only about one in five produces local journalism.
“At a time when America arguably needs more robust reporting than ever, it is deeply troubling to see economic forces so forcefully opposing traditional news sources,” he said. Andreas Heywarda former president of CBS News who works with a group of MIT researchers studying the future of news and information.
“It's not just disturbing,” he added. “It's dangerous.”
The decline has been going on for years, but a painful confluence of challenges has led to the current carnage.
Americans are suffering from news fatigue, inundated with big stories like the upcoming election and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Those who do follow the news have increasingly turned to social media and anti-establishment sites that exist outside of traditional organizations.
Companies are spending a greater portion of their advertising budgets to reach users on major tech platforms like Instagram and Google – which in turn have become less reliable at directing readers to traditional news sources. Twitter, now X, has been turning away users and relevance after Elon Musk's chaotic takeover, while Google and Meta laid off key news employees and the head of Instagram's Threads app said it wouldn't focus on news.
Problems at company level have also taken their toll.
The rise of streaming and a decline in moviegoing have led to belt-tightening at the parent companies of many news outlets. Disney, which owns ABC News, cut thousands of jobs last year. With NBCUniversal losing viewers to its once formidable cable television division, NBC News dismissed several dozen employees this month. CNN, owned by debt-laden Warner Bros. Discovery, went through a series of layoffs. Paramount, which owns CBS News, is also planning major cuts, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Boston Globe have found success attracting digital subscribers, and there are some green shoots among niche, subscription-based startups that focus largely on a single industry, such as The Information for Tech and The Anklet for Hollywood.
Still, the onslaught of painful headlines is an ominous sign for the broader news industry's efforts to forge sustainable business models.
The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times appeared poised for a comeback after each newspaper was purchased by a tech-savvy billionaire, the kind of financial benefactor the industry hoped could provide a lifeline as print revenues dwindled. Recruitment campaigns and Pulitzer Prizes followed at both newspapers.
But both lost tens of millions of dollars last year. This month, Kevin Merida, the widely respected editor of the Los Angeles Times, resigned after a clash with the newspaper's owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. Then came the extensive layoffs.
“If you care about journalism — local news, national news, international news — every warning light should be flashing red,” says Mary Louise Kelly, host of NPR's “All Things Considered,” wrote on X after word of those layoffs spread.
The Post is cutting back under its billionaire owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The newspaper grew in popularity during the Trump administration but failed to build on its subscriber growth. Shortly before the new year, The Post announced that 240 journalists had accepted buyouts.
The Baltimore Sun, Maryland's largest newspaper, also faces an uncertain future. It was sold this month to David D. Smith, a businessman who runs the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group. Many reporters at The Sun are concerned that Mr Smith will impose his political interests on a newspaper he recently admitted he had barely read in four decades.
The magazine world has not been immune. Last week, Sports Illustrated, once a titan of sports journalism whose cover was a coveted prize for the world's greatest athletes, said it has laid off much of its entire staff, and its future is in doubt as its owners consider to license properties to new investors. Days earlier, Condé Nast Pitchfork, once a kingmaker among music's smart sets, folded into GQ magazine and laid off employees, including its editor-in-chief.
On Tuesday, Condé Nast union workers staged a strike and protest at the World Trade Center headquarters. Time magazine, owned by billionaire Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, also started laying off employees this week.
The recent bad news is in some ways a continuation of last year. By 2023, Business insider, The Los Angeles Times and NPR have cut their staffs by at least 10 percent; BuzzFeed's news department was closed; News Corp cut 1,250 people; National Geographic fired its remaining staff writers; Vox Media continued two rounds of layoffs; Vice Media has filed for bankruptcy; Popular Science closed its online magazine; and ESPN, Condé Nast and Yahoo News all jobs were cut.
“A new reality has taken hold among traditional media, both print media owned by billionaires and some of the high-profile national digital players that gained such attention a decade ago,” said Ken Doctor, a media entrepreneur and analyst.
Now the news industry is looking ahead to new hurdles posed by artificial intelligence technology. Some media outlets have expressed concern that AI algorithms, which generate improvised answers to readers' questions, could replace online news sites as go-to sources for current events.
The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, alleging that millions of articles published by The Times have been used to train automated chatbots that now compete as information providers. Some publishers, such as Axel Springer, entered into agreements with OpenAI for annual payments in exchange for the use of their digital archives.
If there is one bright spot, it might be the local television news.
Although local TV news stations are enduring their own problems — heavier workloads for reporters, even as salaries have stagnated — many remain in better shape than local newspapers, said Mr. Heyward, the former president of CBS News, who now works as a consultant for various newspapers. local news media.
“Local TV news has a lot to offer,” he said. “Virtually every market of any size has three to four competing newsrooms, which is in stark contrast to the local newspaper, where a market is lucky to have one. And when they do, it is generally a shadow of its former self.”
A Gallup and Knight Foundation research in 2023 found that Americans placed much more trust in local news sources than in national media organizations. And only 19 percent of Americans described their trust in journalists as “high” or “very high” in a Gallup poll released this weeka decline of nine points compared to four years ago.
“They cannot be demonized as fake news,” Mr Heyward said of local media. “If there's a broken traffic light at Elm and Maple, people know about it, and there are no alternative facts. Americans have trouble finding common ground, but in a local market they do.”