Nearly 3,000 people left journalism organizations in 2023 through layoffs and buyouts.
In 2023, the news sector cut 2,681 jobs — nearly double the jobs lost in all of 2022 and 2021 combined. If you’ve experienced a journalism layoff or buyout since 2022, we want to hear from you for a new research initiative.
The Institute for Independent Journalists Foundation is conducting a census of journalists who were laid off and bought out recently. The survey should take about 5 minutes.
About the Project
Our goal is to understand the demographics, such as race, gender, disability and age, of the nearly 3,000 people who left journalism organizations as they reduced the size of their workforces over the last few years. This project is essential to understand the impact of force reductions. Results of this project will be published in Nieman Reports and distributed through the IIJ Foundation, whose mission is the sustainability of freelancers of color.
How to Participate
You can take the census survey here.
If you’ve experienced a layoff or buyout or want to contribute to the project, please email us at census@theiij.com.
For questions or to get involved, please email census@theiij.com or join our email list here.