2007 Annual Survey of Journalism and Mass Communication Graduates
By
Lee B. Becker, Tudor Vlad, Megan Vogel, Stephanie Hanisak, and Donna Wilcox
Abstract
The job market for journalism and mass communication graduates in the second half of 2007 and the first half of 2008 remained largely unchanged from a year earlier. Nearly the same percentage found full-time jobs as in the previous year and salaries remained static.
Given the turmoil in the traditional media industries and the large number of layoffs, particularly in the daily newspaper segment, the consistency in the experiences of the 2007 graduates probably can be treated as good news.
The continuing decline in the overall U.S. labor market in the first half of 2008 and the number of announcements of layoff at large newspapers, however, does not bode well for the 2007 graduates still seeking work or for the 2008 graduates who have now joined them in the job market.
Journalism and mass communication graduates mostly enter the labor market at the bottom, so turmoil at the top of the market isn’t likely to affect them immediately. Over time, of course, a decline in the number of top positions is likely to slow movement up the career ladder, making it more likely that entry to the field will become more difficult.
The copyrighted full text of the 2007 Graduate Report with black and white charts is available here.
The copyrighted full text of the 2007 Graduate Report with color charts is available here.
Click here for the 2007 Graduate Methods Report