What Does A Work Stoppage Mean For Newspapers?

The newspaper industry has been struggling for the last several years.  We’ve seen shrinking news holes, staff layoffs and other issues with what was once a staple delivered daily to virtually every driveway in town.  Now there are mounting internal industry challenges.

Hundreds of journalists at 24 Gannett-owned papers in seven states, including members of  @azrepublicguild at The Arizona Republic, walked off the job yesterday and Monday to protest against what it calls unfair labor practices.  Arizona Republic reporters had voted to unionize back in 2019.

The guild posted this on Twitter:

“This is not a choice we make lightly. Obviously, none of us are doing this to get rich. We deeply care about the communities we cover. But more and more often, our journalists are being priced out of those communities, or out of the industry entirely.”

As PR pros, we have had to find new outlets for our clients’ news – but newspapers have remained in the mix.

Newspapers have changed dramatically over the last several years, but are we witnessing the end of newspapers as we know them? Companies that do not have the revenue to support their employees often go out of business.  Let’s hope that’s not the case with the newspaper industry.  It’s too important to the fabric of every community.

If you need help or guidance through the ever-changing media community, please reach out.