Newspapers and Magazines

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, overall employment in the publishing industry, including newspapers and magazines, is expected to decline through 2033. In newspaper publishing, this is mainly due to a drop in advertising revenue and readership as more people turn to the Internet, social media, and television for news. Also, corporate mergers and increased efficiency of publishing operations will result in a need for fewer employees. The Pew Research Center reported in 2019 that the newspaper workforce in general had dropped by 25 percent since 2008. In a span of 20 years (from 2004 through 2024), the newspaper publishing industry lost 77 percent of its workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The coronavirus pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, in late 2019, caused further damage to the newspapers and magazines industry. The pandemic hit the newspaper industry particularly hard. The Pew Research Center reported that advertising revenue dropped by 42 percent in mid-2020, compared to the same period in 2019, for the six publicly traded newspaper companies (including Gannett and Lee) it had studied. These newspaper companies also had barely any change in overall circulation and subscription revenue from 2010 through 2020. In 2024, there were 4,644 newspaper publishing businesses in the United States, with about 141,000 employees. Post pandemic, newspapers and magazines are struggling to remain afloat and, as described in an IBISWorld report, "adapt a print-focused business model to a changing media landscape." U.S. newspaper publishing industry revenue had dropped by more than 3 percent annually from 2019 through 2024, and the market is projected to continue to decline through 2029. The magazine and periodical publishing industry in the U.S., composed of 4,878 businesses with total employment of 87,691, will also have continued decline through 2029. Consumers and advertisers will continue to gravitate toward digital publications and podcasts.

The U.S. circulation of newspapers has dropped to its lowest level since 1944, when newspaper data was first available. In the 1940s, newspaper circulation was more than 40 million. In 2022, total daily newspaper circulation (print and digital) was about 20.9 million for weekday and Sunday, a drop by about 9 percent from 2021, according to a Pew Research Center report. Ad revenue for newspapers had also dropped by 5 percent in 2022 compared to 2021.

In 2022, digital advertising comprised 72 percent of total U.S. advertising revenue, growing from 70 percent in 2021 and 64 percent in 2020, according to eMarketer. Total revenue from digital advertising in the U.S. had reached $245 billion in 2022, increasing from $221 billion in 2021 and $161 billion in 2020. News outlets have been adopting digital outreach and engagement methods, such as by offering newsletters and having a presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube. News outlets will continue to expand their digital presence to accommodate consumers' increasing preference to access their news through mobile and desktop devices.

The number of daily newspapers published in the U.S. is expected to continue dropping in the coming years. In 1977, there were about 1,700 daily newspapers in the U.S.; that number has shrunk significantly since then. While most major cities supported two daily newspapers in the past—in the early 1900s about 689 cities had competing newspapers—in 2011 that number had dropped to only 11 cities with competing newspapers and has since continued to shrink. In addition to the growing competition from the Internet, social media, television, and radio as news sources, there is also strong competition between papers for a limited number of local advertisers who may not have the funds or the desire to advertise in two publications.

As more newspapers erect pay walls—that is, restricting online access to articles to paying subscribers—some of the lost revenue is being recaptured. For example, the Wall Street Journal, one of the nation's top newspapers with both print and digital editions, implemented a pay wall in the early 2000s and by 2016 had nearly 900,000 paid digital readers; as of 2024, there were nearly 3.8 million WSJ digital readers. The New York Times implemented a pay wall in 2007; in 2015 it reported 1.1 million digital-only readers, and that number has since grown to more than 10.4 million digital-only subscribers as of 2024.

Finding a reporting job on a daily newspaper has become tougher and tougher, as many dailies have folded. Pew Research Center reported that full-time editorial staff peaked at 56,900 in 1989 then dropped steadily through 2010, ultimately falling 27 percent. That trend has continued. As of 2023, there were approximately 49,800 news analysts, reporters, and journalists employed in the U.S. Overall employment in the newsroom is predicted to decline by about 3 percent through 2033, according to the Department of Labor. Those with strong skills that can transfer to writing for the Internet and with using social media to build readership for their publications using blogs, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, X, and other platforms should find the best opportunities.

In the coming years, the best opportunities for reporters may be with newspapers in smaller towns and suburbs, both dailies and weeklies, where both populations and circulation are growing. Some major U.S. newspaper companies are expanding their operations overseas, particularly in Europe and Asia. There also are special interest newspapers for banking, business, law, labor, medicine, real estate, home furnishings, oil, and other industries, which will provide some employment opportunities. Black and ethnic newspapers (including German, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, and Spanish) number in the hundreds and also may provide limited employment opportunities.

The magazine industry is also predicted to decline through 2033. As more and more specialized publications are introduced to the marketplace, the competition for advertising dollars will remain great. It is estimated that the primary growth in the magazine industry will come from publications that target specialized audiences as the demand for specialized information, typically provided by some magazines, increases.

Most of this information, however, will be provided entirely on the Internet rather than in print. As more readers choose to access magazines online via smartphones and tablet computers, sales of magazine print editions have continued to decline. The market research group Statista reported that the total revenue of U.S.-based magazines published was projected to decline by more than 4 percent from 2023 to 2024, to about $40.1 billion. From 2019 to 2024, the magazine industry has dipped at an annual rate of 1.5 percent. In 2024, the top magazine companies, in terms of revenue, were Meredith Corporation, Bonnier Group Aktiebolag, and America Media Inc. The number of magazines and periodicals published in the U.S. dropped from about 7,383 in 2018 to approximately 5,034 in 2023.

The outlook for writing and editing jobs is expected to be keenly competitive. Opportunities will be best in firms that prepare business and trade publications and in technical writing. Yet, a growing demand for publications and the growth of advertising and public relations agencies should provide new jobs in the magazine industry. And as with newspapers, those who are technologically savvy and comfortable using the Internet and social media should have the best opportunities. Candidates with experience in Web site design and coding, as well as prior experience working for school newspapers and relevant media, will have the best job prospects.