Study shows TV employment exceeding newspapers

NEW YORK — For what is believed to be the first time, the number of journalists working in local television newsrooms exceeds that of people in newspaper offices.

The Radio Television Digital News Association estimates the local TV news employment at 27,100 journalists this year, down 500 from 2017. While the American Society of News Editors has stopped keeping count of newspaper employment, consultant Ken Doctor estimates it at 25,000 or slightly below.

It was only back in 2000 that the newspaper employment more than doubled that of TV news operations. The news editors estimated some 56,200 reporters and editors worked at newspapers that year. TV had 24,100 people working.

The RTDNA said in a report Thursday that people who can do multimedia jobs are in demand at the TV stations.