An American Journalism Review article asks: Is there life after newspapers? To that end, it conducted a survey of journalists on US papers who left their jobs between 1999 and 2007. And here's the killer fact: only 6% have since found other newspaper work.
"The rest are doing everything from public relations to teaching to driving a bus and clerking in a liquor store," says the writer, Robert Hodierne. And they are earning less.
Admittedly, it wasn't a scientific survey, since it involved asking people to fill in a questionnaire (and 595 did so). But there is some objective evidence from the US bureau of labour statistics, which shows that the payroll for all newspaper workers has fallen from 336,000 at the start of 2008 to 313,600 in October, a drop of 22,400 positions.
Hodierne's survey report also includes a series of case studies of former journalists who have gone on to work in a host of different fields. There's a crime reporter who is now a yoga instructor; a reporter doing substitute teaching and, inevitably a couple of ex-hacks are now in PR. Several are, naturally enough, freelancing.
Hodierne, incidentally, is an associate professor of journalism at the University of Richmond after working for 35 years at newspapers, wire services, radio and television news outlets.
This kind of survey is crying out to be emulated in Britain. Anyone interested?
