The incredibly shrinking news industry

Just like its sister paper in San Francisco, the Hearst-owned Houston Chronicle has streamlined its staff. The Chronicle is expected to finalize about 70 job cuts from its 1,400 positions this week. It’s the same story that’s become all too familiar – ad revenues are down and expected to plunge further, buy-outs are being offered, remaining jobs will be cut. This year nearly all the major news companies -- including Gannett, MediaNews, Tribune, and The New York Times – have announced cutbacks, while PR agencies, in comparison, are growing. This makes me wonder if we’re headed for the day when every major metro will have just one lonely reporter dealing with pitches from a legion of PR pros.