State of the Media Industry: An Update on Editorial Layoffs + Whether ChatGPT is to Blame

Plus: Time's running out to sign up for our Become a Journalist's BFF workshop

Good afternoon, TTC community.

As you probably know, it’s been a heck of a few weeks in the media world.

There have been a slew of editorial layoffs (links to news stories below):

• Business Insider laid off 8% of its staff

• LA Times cut 20% of its staff

• Time Magazine cut 15% of its staff

• Pitchfork is being folded in with GQ

• National Geographic also laid off staff last week

• NBC News also had layoffs

• TechCrunch ended its paid subscription and cuts jobs

Given this devastating news (our hearts to out to all the journalists who lost their jobs), there’s been a lot of chatter in industry groups that the reason must be the rise of AI/ChatGPT. But is it really?

We’re going to dive into that in a minute, but first, due to all the movement in the media space right now, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’ve built solid and meaningful relationships with journalists. And we have just the workshop scheduled next week to help you with this:

Last Chance to RSVP for Our Popular "Become a Journalist's BFF: Networking and Relationship Management" Workshop on February 7th

Are you looking for best practices on staying in touch, following up with, and creating meaningful long-term relationships with journalists? Then our upcoming workshop is perfect for your goals.

During the course of an hour-long workshop, we’ll help you:

• Learn how to meet new journalists and develop a lucrative working relationship with them

• Discover best practices for staying in touch

• Learn the finer points of following up that will increase your response rate

• Discover how to become a writer’s go-to source

• Learn how to stand out when answering a writer’s call for sources (whether that’s on HARO, a FB group, Twitter, Substack etc.) — there is definitely an art to this and we will walk you through our magic formula!

• Discover how to avoid common writer pet peeves that may make someone want to pass on working with you again.

We’re looking forward to sharing all this with you!

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Also: It’s Time to Secure Your 1:1 Session with Jill & Nicole for March

Here’s a reminder of the sessions we offer, both to agencies and solo/freelance publicists:

All Your Questions Answered Session

Have a bunch of questions you’ve been dying to ask two top-tier journalists? Here’s your chance to learn about what goes on behind the scenes. Book a panel with us and prepare your list. You’ll walk away with all of your questions answered, plus we’ll sprinkle in our best practices throughout the session to help give you (and your clients!) an edge in this highly competitive media landscape. 

Pitch Perfecting Strategy Session

Ready to take your pitches to the next level? Or are you wondering why certain pitches aren’t getting much response? Learn how to take your emails from, “Here’s a client I represent,” to “Here’s a story idea you can’t possibly turn down.” Between the two of us, we receive thousands of pitches per week, so we have many tips — and examples — of what works and what doesn’t. From coming up with the perfect email subject line to improve your open rates to sealing the deal with your closing remarks, your word choices matter throughout the entire pitch. We’ll help you perfect them.

Become a Journalist’s BFF: Networking and Relationship Management Session

Some publicists seem to have a transactional “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am” approach to their work, but highly successful publicists know that building long-term relationships with journalists is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Learn how to meet new journalists, and discover best practices for staying in touch, following up, and creating meaningful relationships. You’ll also discover how to become a writer’s go-to source, how to stand out when answering a writer’s call for sources (whether that’s on HARO, a FB group, Twitter, or Substack), how to avoid common writer pet peeves and more. 

Press Package 101 Session

Looking to mail out samples of your clients’ products in hopes of landing coverage? Great, but there’s a list of things you should know before dropping them off at the post office — things like planning, packaging, and communications will make all the difference in your ROI. We’ll help you make your packages more enticing, while actually saving your clients money in the process. And we’ll discuss how to target the right audiences, how to handle post-delivery follow-ups, and more. 

Press Trips Invites and Itineraries Session

The two most important aspects of pulling off a successful press trip are nailing your invites and itineraries. First, we’ll dive into journalist targeting and invitation etiquette do’s and don’ts. Then, you’ll learn how to build a press trip itinerary that will actually land you coverage. We’ll focus on striking the perfect blend between offering media the chance to experience a destination, while zeroing in on quality and unique experiences that can lead to coverage — and help you find that elusive balance between keeping writers entertained vs. not overbooking them. 

Hosting the Perfect Virtual and/or In-Person Media Event Session

Events are efficient ways to connect with a lot of media in one setting. During these sessions, you’ll learn the ins and outs of how to create a media event that journalists will A) Want to attend B) Will stay engaged at C) Will work into coverage. We’ll teach you how to target the ideal attendees who are there for article ideas and not just the free swag. We’ll talk venues, guest lists, and what to say in your presentation, plus how to coach your clients to interact with media at events in the most beneficial way.

Your Custom Session

The above options are just a sample of topics, based on questions we get asked about most frequently. But if you have something you’d love to discuss that you don’t see on the list, we’re happy to create a custom session around it. Let’s dive deeper!

Interested in hearing more? Email us at info@toptierconsulting.NET.

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Full disclosure: What you are about to read first appeared in Jill’s personal Substack earlier this week. We have never cross-promoted on here before because we always want to bring you exclusive content, but given the importance of this information and its need for a greater audience, we decided to make a rare exception today. Why? This topic affects every publicist and every journalist, and we want you to be up to speed on the industry so that you can adjust your PR strategy and update clients accordingly.

Every industry Facebook group has been discussing these nonstop editorial layoffs for the last 2 weeks (from writer groups to PR groups) and everyone seems to be asking the same questions:

• Is all of this due to AI and ChatGPT?

• Are robots simply taking over these editorial jobs?

• Are journalism jobs dying?

• What does this mean for the future of PR and journalism?

I have some very specific thoughts on this based on my 24 years of experience in the industry (both on staff at various magazines and as a freelance writer and editor), and I figured now would be a good time to share them. After all, the outcome of this media shakeup will impact your clients and the way you do business not just over the next few weeks and months, but for the foreseeable future. Technology IS changing the way you’ll need to operate if you want to stay successful, but probably not in the way that you’re assuming.

So let’s dive into my assessment of the rise of AI, what’s led to these layoffs, and 5 tips for how best to proceed in your PR efforts in the wake of this industry shakeup so that you’re still killing it for your clients: