Layoffs, inequity and COVID-19: A longitudinal study of the journalism jobs crisis in Australia from 2012 to 2020

Dawson, N; Molitorisz, S; Rizoiu, M-A; Fray, P

Layoffs, inequity and COVID-19: A longitudinal study of the journalism jobs crisis in Australia from 2012 to 2020

Dawson, N Molitorisz, S Rizoiu, M-A Fray, P

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Publisher:: SAGE Publications
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journalism, pp. 146488492199628-146488492199628

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Dawson, N
dc.contributor.author	Molitorisz, S
dc.contributor.author	Rizoiu, M-A
dc.contributor.author	Fray, P
dc.date.accessioned	2021-03-03T03:31:14Z
dc.date.available	2021-03-03T03:31:14Z
dc.identifier.citation	Journalism, pp. 146488492199628-146488492199628
dc.identifier.issn	1464-8849
dc.identifier.issn	1741-3001
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/146679
dc.description.abstract	<jats:p> In Australia and beyond, journalism is reportedly an industry in crisis, a crisis exacerbated by COVID-19. However, the evidence revealing the crisis is often anecdotal or limited in scope. In this unprecedented longitudinal research, we draw on data from the Australian journalism jobs market from January 2012 until March 2020. Using Data Science and Machine Learning techniques, we analyse two distinct data sets: job advertisements (ads) data comprising 3698 journalist job ads from a corpus of over 8 million Australian job ads; and official employment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Having matched and analysed both sources, we address both the demand for and supply of journalists in Australia over this critical period. The data show that the crisis is real, but there are also surprises. Counter-intuitively, the number of journalism job ads in Australia rose from 2012 until 2016, before falling into decline. Less surprisingly, for the entire period studied the figures reveal extreme volatility, characterised by large and erratic fluctuations. The data also clearly show that COVID-19 has significantly worsened the crisis. We then tease out more granular findings, including: that there are now more women than men journalists in Australia, but that gender inequity is worsening, with women journalists getting younger and worse-paid just as men journalists are, on average, getting older and better-paid; that, despite the crisis besetting the industry, the demand for journalism skills has increased; and that, perhaps concerningly, the skills sought by journalism job ads increasingly include ‘social media’ and ‘generalist communications’ skills. </jats:p>
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	SAGE Publications
dc.relation.ispartof	Journalism
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/1464884921996286
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	Dawson, N.; Molitorisz, S.; Rizoiu, M. A.; Fray, P. Layoffs, inequity and COVID-19: A longitudinal study of the journalism jobs crisis in Australia from 2012 to 2020 Journalism (Copyright © [2021]. DOI: [10.1177/1464884921996286]
dc.rights	Journalism, pp. 146488492199628-146488492199628. Copyright © SAGE Publications. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1464884921996286	en_US
dc.subject	1903 Journalism and Professional Writing, 2001 Communication and Media Studies
dc.subject.classification	Communication & Media Studies
dc.title	Layoffs, inequity and COVID-19: A longitudinal study of the journalism jobs crisis in Australia from 2012 to 2020
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.for	1903 Journalism and Professional Writing
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/A/DRsch The Data Science Institute
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2021-03-03T03:31:08Z
pubs.publication-status	Published online

Abstract:

In Australia and beyond, journalism is reportedly an industry in crisis, a crisis exacerbated by COVID-19. However, the evidence revealing the crisis is often anecdotal or limited in scope. In this unprecedented longitudinal research, we draw on data from the Australian journalism jobs market from January 2012 until March 2020. Using Data Science and Machine Learning techniques, we analyse two distinct data sets: job advertisements (ads) data comprising 3698 journalist job ads from a corpus of over 8 million Australian job ads; and official employment data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Having matched and analysed both sources, we address both the demand for and supply of journalists in Australia over this critical period. The data show that the crisis is real, but there are also surprises. Counter-intuitively, the number of journalism job ads in Australia rose from 2012 until 2016, before falling into decline. Less surprisingly, for the entire period studied the figures reveal extreme volatility, characterised by large and erratic fluctuations. The data also clearly show that COVID-19 has significantly worsened the crisis. We then tease out more granular findings, including: that there are now more women than men journalists in Australia, but that gender inequity is worsening, with women journalists getting younger and worse-paid just as men journalists are, on average, getting older and better-paid; that, despite the crisis besetting the industry, the demand for journalism skills has increased; and that, perhaps concerningly, the skills sought by journalism job ads increasingly include ‘social media’ and ‘generalist communications’ skills.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/146679