Amantha Perera’s Post

Democracy thrives in a well-informed populace, and journalism provides a key means through which people are informed. As someone who has worked in journalism, I'm sad for those who lost their jobs at the L.A. Times. It's a complex set of reasons why newsrooms are struggling, including a loss of advertising revenue switching from print to digital editions. But finding solutions to bolster bringing important stories to localities and their people is essential. Understanding what is happening in our neighborhoods, communities, cities, nations, and world makes us more informed citizens to build up a better humanity. https://lnkd.in/epxJjBzC

It's no secret that journalism is facing an uncertain future. With the U.S. projected to lose one-third of its newspapers by year-end compared to 2005 and 204 U.S. counties without any local newspapers, it's hard not to be concerned. Yet, it's important to remember that journalists bring a unique blend of skepticism and earnestness to any issue. Let's hope they continue to be an essential part of our future. #journalism #media #newspapers #magazines #futureofmedia

📊 Muck Rack just released our State of Journalism 2024 Survey results! Top Findings Include: 1️⃣ 1/3 of journalists express concerns about lack of funding and trust in journalism, consistent with last year's findings. 2️⃣ More than 1/3 report layoffs or buyouts. 3️⃣ Nearly 2/3 work more than 40 hours weekly yet only 46% earn more than $70k per year. 4️⃣ 28% currently use generative AI, with 20% planning to explore its uses, mainly for behind-the-scenes tasks. 5️⃣ Despite 45% receiving more than six pitches daily, 49% seldom or never respond, mainly due to relevance issues. Still, 70% acknowledge PR professionals as at least moderately important to their success. https://lnkd.in/gkzerjx8 Let's discuss! 🗣️ #JournalismSurvey #MediaInsights #IndustryTrends

Some of the things that can happen when journalists think themselves somewhat nobler than other professions: “we become vulnerable to exploitation and abuse by leaders of news organizations who leverage our passion for the mission of journalism as an excuse to underpay, overwork, and keep us chained to our desks — or laptops or mobile phones. It’s better for all of us if newsroom leaders have to compete in the labor market for journalism talent against corporate communications and marketing departments. A seasoned professional journalist can accomplish so much in one day: take on a brand new topic, get up to speed, interview new sources, and turn out an article. We should be compensated well, given the challenge of these tasks.” Is anyone listening ?

Journalists, especially those early in their careers, should not feel as though taking a non-journalism job will forever taint them with some kind of unobjective stain. I don’t have any plans to return to a newsroom, but if I did, my years in strategic climate comms should be considered an asset, not a potential disqualification. Treating “leaving journalism” as a one way ticket implies journalists cannot have life experiences that make them potentially appear biased, but this the same pernicious, impossible standard that helps ensure newsrooms stay whiter, maler, straighter, more able bodied - all the things society perceives as a neutral state. It’s why Black reporters are kept off police beats, why r*pe survivors were told they couldn’t cover Me Too. So too can diverse job experiences, including into partisan fields, help journalism as a whole become a more representative profession. Journalism is too unstable a field for those who are in it to feel trapped - to stay and suffer, or consider only limited, poor options when layoffs inevitably come - by the fear that taking a non-newsroom job has to be forever. The brain drain is real: people like myself burn out, take abuse from bosses and companies that underpay and overwork and treat staff with workplace mores several decades out of date, in part for fear that to leave a bad journalism job for a good non-journalism job must be a permanent departure from the field as a whole.

Journalism and communications studies are NOT dead. Take a few minutes to read this article that illustrates how tech disruption is finally dismantling the legacy news business models, and where innovation has sprouted from missed opportunities. This election cycle, what will be your trusted news source?

Excellent post using the article from Erik Peterson and Johanna Dunaway in the latest issue of ANNALS, which I co-edited - glad to see this research already influencing discussions about these important topics!

If you are pitching media and not getting the traction you did 10 (or even two) years ago, you’re not alone. In Muck Rack's recent state of journalism survey, 49% of journalists reported they “seldom or never respond to pitches.” It likely has less to do with your company’s story and more to do with how your #mediastrategy fits with the current state of journalism. More on how #layoffs, buyouts, and #AI are transforming the journalism industry ⤵ https://lnkd.in/gUpPR-y3 #mediarelations #journalism #earnedmedia #PRstrategy #PR #corporatecommunications

Toward an audience-centric future for journalism From mass layoffs and diminished revenue, to lack of trust in media, press freedom crackdowns and more, the news industry today faces no shortage of challenges. But rather than resign themselves to defeat, some journalists are taking initiative to reorient the industry toward what they believe will be a more prosperous future – by centering audiences first and foremost.  https://lnkd.in/dCufTVH5

Here's an interesting prediction about the future of public relations and journalism. My hope is that leaders and citizens will recognize the vital importance of journalism to our society, particularly local journalism, and will fund and support a resurgence to its former glory, or make it flourish even more! Post a note in the comments to let me know if you agree or disagree with this prediction.