The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has expressed concern about the increased number of layoffs impacting media professionals this year.
The organization cited a new report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas that found at least 17,436 jobs have been cut as of May 31, a 315% increase from one year earlier. SPJ noted this represented the highest amount of job cuts on record, including surpassing cuts made during the beginning of the pandemic. Among the most recent job cuts cited by SPJ was the announcement by the Los Angeles Times regarding the elimination of 74 positions, or about 13% of its staff, with the majority of those losing their jobs being people of color.
“Local journalism is often the first to be impacted by these cuts. The loss of so many journalism jobs ”” and entire newsrooms ”” can create news deserts and ghost newspapers, where there is no longer regular on the ground coverage of a community,” said SPJ National President Claire Regan. “When a steady stream of reliable and accurate information dries up, a tidal wave of misinformation threatens democracy.”
