By Lilly Keller
This morning, like every morning, I reflexively checked X after my alarm buzzed me awake. The initial tweet, its details still blurred by the remnants of sleep, broke the startling news that Vice Media would cease publication on Vice.com, leading to the layoffs of hundreds of employees.
However, Vice and its journalists are just the latest victims in a year marked by widespread newsroom layoffs. In January, the Los Angeles Times slashed 20% of its newsroom, The Messenger, a news startup, shut down entirely in early February, leaving over 300 employees jobless and recently, Time laid off 15% of its staff, roughly 30 employees.
As a young journalist entering the industry, I find that the recurring layoffs create a sense of insecurity and uncertainty. While no career is immune to spontaneous downsizing, journalism attracts this prospect like a moth to a flame.
According to Axios, the recent layoffs in the news industry stem from decreased advertisement revenue, consolidation-related debt and subscription fatigue.
While these reasons are largely out of individual journalist’s control, it offers little comfort.
Julie Bosman, the Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times, has observed the impact of layoffs on journalists at all levels throughout her career in national news.
Growing up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Bosman remembered her local paper, the Kenosha News, as small but robust, with dozens of reporters consistently covering everything from high school sports to local government and human interest stories. However, when she returned to her hometown in 2021 to cover the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two people during a period of civil unrest, she described the paper as a shell of its former self.
“It was a great example of local news,” Bosman said. “It was so striking to see up close the difference in how many reporters were working there…I think you can probably count on one hand the full-time reporters who worked there at the time.”
The harsh reality is that the Kenosha News is a single piece of a larger puzzle, illustrating a widespread trend of layoffs and downsizing in local news nationwide.
Having harbored a passion for local news since before college, I’m grappling not only with the uncertainty of my professional future but also with the broader implications for our democracy.
A recent Knight Foundation poll revealed that 60% of Americans trust local news over national news for information applicable to their daily lives. Additionally, nearly 78% express greater trust in local news for information necessary to engage with their community.
As newsrooms, whether local or national, shrink, the societal cost increases. A functioning democracy relies on accurate, trustworthy information for informed voting. Gaps in news coverage create cracks, fostering the spread of fake news and misinformation.
Bosman emphasized that downsizing not only lowers the quality of reporting but also robs reporters of valuable learning opportunities from their colleagues.
“I know that when you’re around more people, when you have more colleagues who are at all stages of their careers that really helps you understand how to do your job. At The Times there are there are journalists who’ve been reporters for 30 years who have covered everything from, you know, metro to style to national news, sports and have just amassed a wealth of knowledge that they can then share within the newsroom,” Bosman said.
However, remaining in a constant state of anxiety over an unknown future will not change anything. For Bosman, the best approach is to focus on what can be controlled within the industry rather than fixating on factors beyond one’s reach.
“Well, one piece of advice that I was given by one of my mentors was, if you feel like you’re stuck and you’re not sure if you’re going in the right direction on something… and if you if you’re getting a little overwhelmed with like the direction of your career or the direction of the news industry, just go one story at a time and that will be a way out,” Bosman said.
Despite the current instability in journalism, my desire to pursue this career path remains steadfast. I recognize that even in the industry’s most uncertain moments, journalists are indispensable for a more just future. Society will always need journalists, whether acknowledged or not. As long as we maintain our passion for accountability and democracy, we will always have a purpose, regardless of where or how long we end up.