Layoffs hit multimedia journalists

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. — This post from E-Media Tidbits shows that newspapers are even laying off those with multimedia skills.

It doesn't surprise me, though, because when The Flint Journal went from a daily to a three-times-a-week publication earlier this year, it cutback heavily from what had been exclusively an Internet-focused team among many other cuts across the board. This happened, I believe, because the paper could no longer afford a separate team and is now having its reporters and editors attempt to pick up the slack. To a certain extent, this flattening of specialization has been a long-running trend in journalism. This means those entering the profession will have to be a reporter, an editor, copy editor, videographer, etc. That'll be the reality, I think, until a more successful business model evolves.