Thursday, December 6, 2018
The newspaper industry has shed 60% of its jobs since 1990. Despite this decline in the health of print publications and print journalism, Mike hears from three local editors about why print isn’t dead and why alternative publications still matter.
October marked the last time Creative Loafing-Charlotte put out a print issue. The alternative weekly magazine, which started in 1978, announced at the end of the month that it laid off all its staff, and will begin to be a digital only product moving forward.
The decline of print journalism isn’t limited to just Charlotte. The industry as a whole has seen a steady decline over the last few decades. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1990, there were once around 455,000 people employed in the newspaper industry. Now, the number is just below 200,000. That’s a decline of 60 percent.
This hour we sit down with three different local editors to discuss the future of local publications, why print isn’t dead, and why alt. magazines still matter here in Charlotte.
GUESTS
Ryan Pitkin, editor, Queen City Nerve
Herb White, editor-in-chief, TheCharlotte Post
Emma Way, editor, Charlotte magazine