State of the Industry Update: Layoffs + the Future of PR/Media (and 8 Ways You Can Adapt)

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Hello, TTC subscribers!

By now we hope you’ve caught up on our two recent FREE posts, where we answered all your latest burning questions:

• Part 1: All Your Questions Answered

• Part 2: All Your Questions Answered

This week, we have a heavier topic to tackle …. and it’s all based on a deep question we received from a publicist named Kayla:

“Full transparency: My anxiety has been off the charts this last week with yet another round of media layoffs. Scared if earned media will be a thing of the past in just a few years. I'm sure you're experiencing this fear, too. How are you all coping with the shrinking landscape? Do you think we’ll all be extinct in 2 years and instead working on purely paid media? How can we evolve as media and PR people to remain relevant for the next decades?!”

Yeah, we feel you. Ooof.

Like I said … it’s a heavy topic! And trust me, all writers and publicists are feeling this anxiety too. I promise, it’s not ALL doom and gloom, but there IS a lot to unpack here.

I’ll share some insights into how this industry shift is affecting reporters/editors (so you can adjust your pitching accordingly) and provide EIGHT tips for how you can adapt to this changing landscape and stay relevant for years to come.

Jill

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This week’s topic: The State of the Industry

It’s no surprise to anyone that journalism as we know it is in trouble. We’ve faced several years of nearly nonstop layoffs … and in the last few months, the following outlets have been affected: Hearst, Entertainment Tonight, ESPN, National Geographic, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg, the Los Angeles Times, Bustle Digital Group, Vice Media, Buzzfeed News, Insider, and Vox Media.

Yeah, that list is scary and depressing … for both media and publicists. And it leaves us all wondering, who’s next? And how much more upheaval can this industry take?!

So let’s dig into what this constant downsizing means for media, and then I’ll share some tips for how to proceed as publicists.

If you only read one of our Substacks all year, it should definitely be this one!

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