Like so many other industries, newspapers across the country are beset by financial challenges. When a recession hits and jobs are lost, people buy fewer goods. This can mean a reduction in a newspaper’s circulation. At the same time, some businesses reduce their advertising budgets, resulting in less ad revenue for newspapers.
Ultimately, this chain of events can cause a newspaper to cut resources to remain profitable. This produces a newspaper job market that has more prospective employees than there are jobs to fill. Since the job market is tight, those who are lukewarm toward journalism tend to leave the field and look for jobs in other professions that might be less demanding (and more lucrative). Sometimes this can result, in the end, in a better work force of truly committed journalists.
I recently attended a journalism jobs fair, organized by the Indiana Associated Press Managing Editors, at Franklin College. About 20 newspapers were represented there, and about 100 students attended. Each newspaper rep was given a table and a schedule with about 16 student appointments for 15 minutes each.
As you might imagine, it’s a nerve-racking experience for the students, especially given the job market. The students are young, want a job badly and are involved in an intense competition for the few jobs available. Of all the newspapers represented there, less than a third actually had newsroom positions to fill. The others were there to lend advice, make contacts and express encouragement.
I mentioned to the very first student I talked to that The Herald Bulletin would likely be hiring a new reporter soon. Word of this spread like breaking news through the ranks of the students, and I became a popular target. The moment the student I was talking to stood up to move on to his next appointment, a student who was not on my schedule would step forward and ask for a minute of my time.
Having entered the job market in the mid-1980s, when the economy was shaky, I had a special empathy for these students, so keen on getting a job in newspaper when there are so few available. My message to each of them was the same: If you’re really good and really determined, you’ll eventually find a job you want. Stick to it.
The good news from the job fair was that the future of newspapers (and their Web sites) is in good hands. Of the 20-some students I talked to, all but a few were well prepared to work in the real world of newspaper journalism. Even a few underclassmen who attended to get a jump on their career already had good credentials through internships and work on their college newspaper.
Only the better, more passionate students, of course, will find jobs in newspaper. The others will look elsewhere. And in the end, the recession-induced leaning of the newspaper industry will be good for it. Whatever we endure, as long as it doesn’t kill us, only makes us stronger.
Managing Editor Scott Underwood’s column appears Mondays in The Herald Bulletin. Contact him at scott.underwood@heraldbulletin.com or 640-4845.
