Local TV newsroom employment has surpassed total newspaper newsroom employment for the first time in more than 20 years.
This is according to a RTDNA-Hofstra University research project which surveys radio and television newsrooms annually.
“Despite all the talk about alleged news deserts across the country, our research clearly shows broadcast and digital journalists are serving their communities throughout America,” said Dan Shelley, executive director of RTDNA.
Highlights from the survey include:
2017 saw a slight decrease in the number of TV news jobs, with two fewer newsrooms and a decrease in the median newsroom size, but the average local TV newsroom employment remains just below its all-time high.
Nearly 90 percent of news directors expect their staffing to increase or remain the same in the coming year.
The number of multimedia journalists (MMJs) or backpack journalists has been steadily increasing for several years, but this year growth slowed for the first time. In the average newsroom, MMJ jobs still increased while reporter jobs fell.
Website responsibilities are increasingly integrated into job descriptions across newsrooms and, among newsrooms that hired in 2017, the largest proportion—nearly 20 percent—of newly created positions were digital-focused: web, social media or other digital media positions.
The study is part of a series of reports that look at salaries, diversity, news coverage and business operations. While TV newsroom employment is up compared to newspapers, the study noted that hiring has decreased in markets 151 and below.