OJR's 'pep talk' about the news media

If the recent reports of newsroom layoffs, buyouts, falling newspaper circulation and crashing news company revenue  have you feeling like there's no hope, this 'pep talk' from the Online Journalism Review from USC Annenberg should cheer you up:

Newspaper circulation might be down, but online newspaper readership is up.

The Los Angeles Times lost more subscribers over the past four years than any other paper in the United States, according to Editor & Publisher. But its website last month topped 100 million page views for the first time, a 34 percent increase in views over the past year.

Overall, more than 60 million people a month read newspaper websites last year, according to a Nielsen Online Custom Analysis for the Newspaper Association of America. That's up from 56 million a month in 2006.

The Walt Disney Company estimated this week that it will make $1 billion selling non-theme park online content this year.

More people are reading news, at least online. People are spending more and more money online, and advertisers are spending more and more money there, as well.

Spending on online ads is estimated to increase by 24 percent, to $44.6 billion this year. The same report said that online ad sales will top radio this year, and magazines by 2010.

So that's the pep talk. Then there's the challenge - how do journalists and PR people stay on top of all this new stuff?

USC offers training for journalists  

PR folk can attend the social media bootcamp at the Media Relations Summit or go to the New Communication Forum.

There are resources out there to help you figure this all out.