There was some encouraging media-related news out of Chicago, where more radio listeners are turning to news-intensive stations -- including public radio -- for information during the coronavirus pandemic. However, at the same time, Poynter reports that newsrooms across the nation are laying off staff members or asking them to take pay cuts because ad revenues are down.
The Shop Talk panelists believe the big corporations that own many newspapers, TV stations, and radio stations should be investing in newsrooms right now as nations around the globe struggle to combat a public health crisis.
The panelists also question whether executives and investors at those companies are sharing in the sacrifice.
Shop Talk is a weekly panel discussion about journalism issues. This week’s program featured Will Buss, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University and advises the student editors at the Western Courier, the students at student radio station The Dog, and the WIU chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; Rajvee Subramanian, who teaches in the Department of Broadcasting and Journalism at Western Illinois University; and TSPR News Director Rich Egger.