Emurse

Over the period 2004-14, wage and salary employment in publishing, except software, is projected to grow 7 percent, compared to 14 percent growth for all industries combined. As the need for news and information continues to grow, the publishing industry will be in the forefront. Books, newspapers, and magazines, produced in a variety of media, will be needed to keep people informed. However, efficiencies in production and a trend towards using more freelance writers will dampen employment growth. Keen competition for jobs also can be expected for most writing and editing jobs, as this industry attracts a large number of applicants, especially at nationally known publications. Writers with specialized knowledge and those who can write on subjects appealing to minority and ethnic readers will have better job prospects.

The need for workers in the publishing industry also varies with the economy. When the economy is depressed, advertising declines and publishers look to cut costs and personnel. In addition, when the economy is down, State and local governments cut back on spending on books for libraries, and to a lesser extent for schools.

While readership is up, newspaper subscriptions have been declining for many years, as more people turn to television for much of their news. Many people also are turning to Internet news sites, some of which are provided by newspapers and magazines. In addition, as the population becomes more diverse and spread out, newspaper publishers are finding that they need to hire more reporters as they attempt to increase readership by adding more stories of interest to ethnic and suburban audiences. However, mergers in the industry have also made newspapers more efficient. Reporters and advertising agents can now write stories or sell advertising for several newspapers at once and multiple newspapers can now be printed at one location. Those working in company administration also are more productive. Efficiencies will be particularly apparent in the printing plants. As computerization of the printing process becomes widespread, more printing plates will be made directly from electronic images of publication's pages, which have been developed, stored, and transmitted by computer. Employment of prepress technicians and printing machine operators is expected to decline because fewer will be needed to operate the new computerized equipment.

There is a possibility the Federal Communications Commission will relax the rules banning ownership of television stations and newspapers in the same market. If this happens, workers may be required to work in both the broadcast and print mediums. Photographers, for example, will also have to learn to use video cameras and print reporters also may need to provide news stories for broadcast.

Periodical and book publishing, along with miscellaneous publishing, will likely grow more slowly than in the past. Although mergers are becoming less frequent within the book publishing business, they are expected to continue in magazine publishing, leading to more efficiencies, thus slowing growth in employment. However, several types of publishing should see increased growth. The segment of the industry producing textbooks is expected to benefit from a growing number of high school and college students over the next decade and the need to implement new learning standards in classrooms. Technical and scientific books and journals also will be needed to relay new discoveries to the public. Custom publishing, in which a specialized firm, magazine publisher, or newspaper publisher produces customized newsletters and magazines for clients, also is expected to grow, as more businesses and organizations use this format to directly market new products to clients and retain customer loyalty.

Job openings for advertising sales agents will be in rough balance with the supply of workers, as this occupation is subject to more turnover than most. Advertising sales agents who have a bachelor's degree and direct sales experience will have the best opportunities.

The best job opportunities in the future will be for those who have good computer skills and can work in multiple mediums. Most newspapers and magazines, in particular, now have Web sites that are regularly updated. Some of these sites require additional writers, reporters, and editors to update content. The sites also need Web coders and designers and other computer experts to maintain the sites. The production of e-books, which are likely to grow in popularity over the next decade, will require people skilled in incorporating graphics and other digital inputs.

Technological advances will continue to eliminate and change jobs in this industry. Prepress technicians and postpress workers (inserters, material handlers, and bundlers) will continue to lose jobs to automation. Newspapers will increasingly use temporary workers, instead of full-time employees, to fill open positions in postpress. The production jobs that remain will require computer and mathematical skills.