Traditional Toronto media has taken a lot of hits lately with recent layoffs of some of our favourite local news personalities, cuts at the Sun and Star newspapers and local TV is in a battle with cable TV over money. Money that the local TV stations say they need to survive. Are the layoffs helping, are the media personnel getting hired back in their field and where is Larysa Harapyn?
More and more people get their information from the internet while fewer people pay for a daily newspaper or watch the local news. Advertisers who are the heart of the traditional information delivery systems have noticed this trend and have cut back on advertising and have been further restricted due to the downturn in the economy. Less advertising money means less content and less content means less reporters and editorial staff.
The numerous cuts at the Toronto Sun are even lamented in a blog called Toronto Sun Family (http://torontosunfamily.blogspot.com/). Reported job cuts also occurred at many media outlets from the Toronto Star, Rogers/CityTV, Canwest, CTV Globemedia, CHUM, Sportsnet, and the Globe and Mail.
For newspapers the combined impacts of free newspapers, reduced advertising and internet and mobile computing have produced major declines at traditional paid circulation newspapers. Newspaper circulation data from the CCAB Daily Newspaper TRAC (http://216.41.211.36/bpaww_com/HTML/dailies/CCAB%20Newspaper%20TRAC%202009.pdf) show the following.
Star weekday average 2009 circulation 390,163 (unpaid/free 105,988), average weekday circulation in 2008: 419,070 a -6.9% decline.
Sun weekday average 2009 circulation 178,461 (unpaid/free 41,630), average weekday circulation in 2008: 184,473 a -3.2% decline.
Toronto’s free newspapers had 2009 average weekday circulations of 247,236 for 24 Hours and 258,858 for Metro.
Shockingly just these four newspapers put out 653,712 copies of free newspapers, which exceed the paid weekday circulation of 568,624 for the Sun/Star combo. With free newspapers and free newspaper websites why would you pay for newspapers anymore?
Local television has also been impacted by declining ad revenues, available internet alternatives and low or no revenues derived from being carried in cable TV packages. With nothing but cuts to media around the world can anyone get a job in their field after a layoff? Media can look for jobs at such sites as media Job Search Canada (http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com/jobs.asp?c=56) but it would be a tough search. Owners of media are cutting costs, taking unpaid interns and less expensive talent.
I keep searching but I don’t see Larysa’s face on the television or on the web. Where are you Larysa?
