Slow job growth in business journalism

Just one out of five business news operations plan to add staffers in 2011, while one out of 12 are cutting positions this year, according to an informal survey of business journalists conducted by the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.

Of the newsrooms that are hiring, 75 percent plan to add just one position this year. Most of the newsrooms that are hiring are looking for a reporter, while others are looking for section editors, copy editors and a “content generator.”

The findings indicate that the job cuts in business journalism have declined significantly, but that many business news operations are still being careful about adding positions.

One business reporter who has recently looked for a job said that the market is still extremely tight.

“As a semi-frequent and universally unsuccessful applicant for business reporting jobs, I find that news outlets are generally hiring people who left or were laid off from larger, higher paying and more prestigious organizations who are trading down to smaller, lower-paying and less prestigious ones,” said this reporter, who wished to remain anonymous.

“That’s great for the hiring organization, but it means that the career ladder isn’t working very well,” added this reporter. “People aren’t getting the chance to move up.”

Indeed, the survey found that of those planning to hire a business journalist in 2011, nearly half plan to recruit for the position internally, and more than 80 percent said they plan to look externally, but only in their local market. Respondents could choose more than one answer.

Read more here. DISCLOSURE: I conducted the survey for SABEW.