TV newsrooms lose 360 positions

Television newsrooms across the country have experienced a net loss of 360 positions this year, according to Bob Papper, professor of journalism at Hofstra University. Prof Papper points out that there is a general misperception in the TV industry that the newsroom losses are larger than they actually are. "I have been intrigued by how many news directors have said, 'We've really been lucky. We are the exception to what's happening in the industry,'" Papper said. TV news reductions, which include both layoffs and vacated positions that have gone unfilled, are often reported by newspapers, which tend to see the losses through the prism of their own newsroom staff downsizing, Papper said. "The difference between newspaper and television is there are fundamental problems with newspapers in both circulation and business model. In TV, what we are seeing is a reflection of economic times," he said.