On any given week EMS is in touch with over 100 ethnic media practitioners in California and hundreds more nationwide. The fallout from the pandemic has dramatically accelerated the loss of revenue they’ve experienced with the shift to digital ads. Layoffs are widespread.
To document the crisis, last week we did an online survey of 80 mainly print and digital outlets in California across all ethnic groups, asking five questions with multiple choice answers.
Here are the top lines:
96% described their financial situation as as desperate (52%) or vulnerable (44%).
To manage operations during the crisis, 33% said they planned to rely on SBA loans or other funding; 30% planned to apply for financial assistance while taking other measures. 37% indicated they would not apply for funding and rely solely on other measures, such as suspending or ending print, laying off staff, temporarily shutting down.
Asked the biggest threat to their operations, 96% said loss of ad revenue.
Other factors included loss of capacity due to the lock down, loss of audience, and loss of distribution channels.
Asked what would help, 82% said the promise of new revenue sources – including short term loans, funding for a reporter, or a commitment of new ad revenue. Asked how much they need: 32% said $10-25k; 24% said 25-50k; 36% said 50-100k.
Overall the resilience of the sector is its most impressive feature. Laid off journalists continue to produce content for their outlets; leaders in the sector deeply appreciate fellowships for their outlets or reporters to cover issues like COVID 19. Less than five percent of respondents said they were contemplating closing down for good.
