Pew Research Center: Journalism is Dead…Sort of

The Pew Research Center today released what essentially amounts to a takedown of modern journalism. According to the findings, ad revenue — long thought to be the industry’s best bet for weathering a paper-to-digital transition — is drying up in almost every nook and fold of the media landscape.

Some of the statistics are pretty devastating. In 2009, print and online newspapers saw ad revenue plummet 26 percent (apparently, ads that hoot and expand when your mouse moves over them aren’t more appealing. Go figure.). This “brings the total loss over the last three years to 43 percent.”

Forty-three percent in three years. Let that simmer for a second.

Newspapers aren’t alone, either. Local TV stations lost 22 percent of their ad revenue last year, as did radio. Even magazines, which maintained a remarkable economic buoyancy up until around 2007 (much longer than papers did), began to decline: a survey of subscriptions shows their numbers dipped 17 percent.

There are tidbits that could be interpreted as good news with an asterisk: News media are not shrinking, though their capacity for original reportage is. Ethnic media are thriving, though that may be due primarily to the election of a black president. And though digital media outlets are still struggling to find a revenue model that works, their efforts may be buttressed by a new paradigm that includes an emphasis on citizen journalism projects. According to Pew, “one concept that will get more attention is collaborations of old media and citizens in what some call a “pro-am” (professional and amateur) model for news”(For more info on how these things work, check out AlterNet’s Bubble Barons project).

Perhaps the most interesting finding though is the one addressing access. When asked whether they would be willing to pay for online news, a staggering 82 percent of consumers said no. Fifteen percent said yes, and three percent were not sure. This paints a bleak picture for large news organizations (like the New York Times) that are hoping to restrict access to their content in the approaching months.

So what will be the end result? Will cunning media consumers begin a massive information pirating campaign once news is no longer free? Will everyone just stop reading the news altogether? According to the study, “The future of news ultimately rests on more long-term concerns: What are the prospects for alternative journalism organizations that are forming around the country? Will traditional media adapt and innovate amid continuing pressures to thin their ranks?”

Journalism won’t die — that’s a certainty. But no one is sure how it’s going to survive, either.