Brutal newsroom layoffs
Navigating smaller newsrooms to get results
A recent Axios article predicted catastrophic news for the news industry this year. More than 11,000 newsroom jobs were eliminated in the first half of 2020 alone, roughly the same lost in the entire year of 2009. While news staffs have been shrinking over the years, COVID-19 has accelerated the loss; the pandemic threw gasoline on already burning fire.
Leading national and international outlets like Vox, McClatchy, BBC and The Guardian have made deep cuts to their newsrooms. In Colorado, virtually every outlet – with the exception of Colorado Public Radio – has furloughed or laid off reporters.
Aaaack! What should a progressive nonprofit or campaign making news do when there are fewer reporters to pitch and a slimmer “news hole”?
You could look to Progressive Promotions to help promote your work – Jenny and Katie not only have decades of media relations experience, we know Colorado’s reporters and what they need to cover your story. Maybe most importantly, we understand what makes a good news story and will pitch it for maximum effect.
While you might not have the media relationships we do, you can learn the six elements of a news story to increase your own chances of scoring media coverage. Check out this blog we wrote about it – it’s like auditing Journalism 101 for free!
Fewer reporters out on the street is bad for our democracy and our communities, there is no doubt. But if you use the six elements to frame your story, you’ll position yourself for coverage in this troubling time.
Progressive Promotions Clients in the News
The COVID-19 pandemic has been economically devastating for families – Hunger Free Colorado highlighted the need to increase SNAP nutrition benefits in news outlet online takeover ads and stories in The Denver Post, Newsline, Durango Herald, Grand Junction Sentinel and the Colorado Times Recorder and an AP story that appeared around the state.
CCHI weighed in on the need to end expensive out-of-network healthcare bills in a Kaiser Health News piece that aired on NPR, ABC News, The Hill, Colorado Sun, Physician’s Weekly and local ABC affiliates around the country.
The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado’s Rev. Amanda Henderson recommends bridging our political and cultural divides with grace and humor in her new book “Holy Chaos” – as highlighted in Colorado Politics, Westword and recent Sunday Denver Post features story. We made a video promoting the book, too!
To understand workplace and older workers’ needs in the pandemic, Changing the Narrative is collecting surveys around the state, including in Montrose, El Paso County and the San Luis Valley.
Resilient Restaurants – a project of Good Business Colorado – made its pitch for human and environmental sustainability in the Colorado Sun, Westword, Colorado Politics and Montrose Press.
August Hero
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold – now being called “the Dr. Fauci of vote-by-mail” – has become America’s most trusted source of information about secure vote-by-mail elections. And she wasn’t afraid to call out Trump’s blatant attempts to undermine November’s election: “The President stated that he’s withholding U.S. Postal Service funding to prevent vote by mail...it’s voter suppression to undermine the safest method to vote during a pandemic, and force Americans to risk their lives to vote.” Kudos to Griswold for championing mail-in voting and speaking truth to power!
August Zero
Is anyone else infuriated by U.S. Senator Cory Gardner’s refusal to commit on key issues? Does he have a position on administration efforts to hobble the post office right before elections? Nah, we should just try to understand what the postmaster is trying to do (hint: f*ck with the election). What about his position on William Perry Pendley’s nomination as director of the Bureau of Land Management? No answer, even after word of the nomination withdrawal leaked. He says he wants to protect people with pre-existing conditions from losing health insurance but all his actual votes would cut or gut that federal requirement. We’re looking forward to saying “Bye Cory” in November!