A few of us Ketner Groupies recently attended a PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) luncheon and got to meet three of Austin’s most notable media professionals. Patti Smith, general manager and president of KVUE TV, Debbie Hiott, the managing editor of the Austin American Statesman, and Susanna Hamner, a freelance journalist that frequently writes for the New York Times, discussed the evolution of media in a changing world (specifically in a world where social media has become a viral phenomenon for spreading breaking news, celebrity gossip and saucy rumors). As we debated the different ways social media displaces traditional media, the conversation quickly turned to the hardships that have been plaguing print media for the last couple of years.
According to Paper Cuts, a website tracking the status of the newspaper industry, 175 newspapers have shut down or stopped printing since 2007, including the Rocky Mountain News, who closed its doors after 150 years, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who now exists only online after 146 years of printing. Another 30,146+ newspaper jobs have been cut since 2007 and industry experts predict that many more will disappear by the end of 2009. Continue reading
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