by A.man.I

It’s the best, and worst time to be a professional journalist. The great part: The media business is being revolutionized by the Internet, and if you like digital storytelling and video production, you probably have nothing to worry about.

The bad part: Journalists’ heads are on the chopping block, and those who don’t get up to speed on new media and online journalism should expect to end up blindfolded in line for the guillotine.

It’s a dismal situation for some, but I say diversify your skills, and start thinking about some independent ways to make that cheese.

The National Association of Black Journalists gives another example of the situation that some journalists face.

April 15, 2008 National Association of Black Journalists

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
NABJ Communications
1-866-479-NABJ Ext. 113
rwilliams@nabj.org

NABJ to Newsroom Leaders: You Must Do Better
Black journalists see little progress in adding reporters, editors of color

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 15, 2008- The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) urges newsroom leaders to take new initiatives to offer staffs that reflect the diversity of our nation.

Staffing in the nation’s newsrooms declined for the fourth consecutive year and efforts to bring diversity to reporting and editing teams remained a challenge according to the annual census released Sunday by the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) at their annual gathering in the nation’s capital.

The number of newsroom employees in 2007 dropped by 2,400 jobs or 4.4 percent when compared with the previous year. Journalists of color left 300 positions, falling to 7,100, according to the 2008 census released at ASNE’s annual convention in Washington, D.C.

But because of layoffs and hiring freezes, the percentage of journalists of color in daily newsrooms actually grew by a tiny margin, to 13.52% from 13.43% of all journalists. Blacks make up the largest number and percentage of journalists of color with 2,790 or 5.3 percent of the workforce, according to the survey.

Click here to read more.