With the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) pointing to around a thousand journalistic redundancies this year, the union has suggested the vast majority can't find traditional journalist positions and are looking instead to other roles, including non-traditional content jobs.
MEAA strategist for the future of journalism Marcus Strom said the union has not yet conducted an official study into where the redundant journalists have been going, but said there were numerous trends he had noticed through his involvement in the industry and interaction with redundant journalists.
“It used to be if you were made reduandant at one place, say News Limited, you would just move over the Fairfax, or into another journalism role somewhere,” Strom said. “But it's different now, these journos can't just move into what I would refer to as 'traditional' journalistic roles.”
Strom said around a thousand journalistic jobs have been taken off the table in the mainstream media this year, including 280 at Fairfax Metro, 40 at Fairfax Regional, 120 at Channel Ten, and 18 at the ABC in Tasmania. He said the union estimated about 400 or 500 had been made redundant at News Limited.
However, despite his claims that journalists cannot find “traditional” roles, he argued they were finding new positions in “non-traditional areas”.
“Now there are non-traditional places like the AFL, Commonwealth Bank or the Football Federation which are creating their own news and content divisions, so many journalists are looking into this space.
“The way people get news and information is changing, and there are roles opening up which relate to this.
“I'm sure a lot of these people are retiring or completely changing their careers, but lots are going into corporate communications, which is the more traditional path a journalist might take if they are crossing over, as they say. Many are moving into government communications departments. They might go into PR. But others still are going down the less traditional content path.
“Savvy companies are acting in news ways, creating content that will bring people to the brand.”
A prime example of this new direction for journalists can be seen in content agency King Content, which generates online content for brands, and has a database consisting of thousands of journalists who write material for companies.
King Content chief executive Craig Hodges said he has noticed that journalists are increasingly moving into other “content-related positions”.
He has suggested that journalists have become increasingly desired by marketers, as more and more brands move into the content and owned media space.
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