There are now nearly 5 PR pros for every reporter
As the PR field flourishes, journalists are becoming a vanishing breed. The current scale is more than double the ratio of 15 years ago. This analysis from Muck Rack shows pay levels reflect both trend lines.
As I’ve spent the last several months looking for a full-time journalism job, I keep noticing something depressing.
When you search job sites for “journalism,” “reporter” or other similar keywords, what you’ll find is a whole bunch of roles that have nothing to do directly with producing the news.
For every one job result for a reporter, photojournalist or TV producer, you’ll get 10 results for jobs available to people with journalism backgrounds or degrees to switch careers toward marketing, advertising and, most of all, public relations.
I dug into the numbers and found a media landscape that has seen a huge rise in pitchmen and a big drop in news reporters, at a rate that surprised even a jaded newspaper reporter such as I.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, here is how the total American job numbers looked 15 years ago, and today:
2000: 65,900 news reporters, and 128,600 public relations people
2015: 45,800 news reporters, and 218,000 public relations people
So 15 years ago, there were about two PR people for every reporter in the country. Now there are 4.8 public relations pros for every reporter.
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