The 2020 Journalism Crisis: A year in review
2020 was a banner year for news. While the year in journalism yielded intrepid political reporting amid a contentious election year, vital public health information amid a pandemic, and exacting historical analysis amid historic protests, publications across the country cut back: stripping salaries, ousting staffers, closing offices, and shutting down print editions.
In the early months of the pandemic, commercial publications at every level made cuts in attempts to stay afloat. Some survived; others foundered. As public health expectations and restrictions waxed and waned, so, too, did reporting jobs and salaries. Reporters were furloughed only to be fired, fired only to be rehired, and offered buyouts after twenty years of tireless work. Some outlets crowd-sourced enough funding to produce local coverage before the November election. Many continue to publish work through the efforts of small, under-resourced teams.