"Despite the impact of the pandemic, it’s worth noting that the news media industry is a US$ 112.4 billion business, according to our analysis. But, of course, we cannot come up with any original superlatives (and won’t) to characterise the effects of the pandemic on our business (some bad, some good) last year and today, and the way we work and will work in the future. For the business, the figures speak for themselves [...] 43% of respondents from our WPT Publishers Outlook survey said their revenues declined by more than 20% “in the last 12 months”; another 7% said theirs declined by more than 10%. On average, overall revenue was down by 11%, publishers reported. Print advertising took the biggest brunt of the crisis: down 19.5%. Print circulation revenue also took a hit: down 13%. However, 17% of publishers reported an increase in revenues last year, according to our Outlook survey, with 11% actually saying revenues were up more than 20%. When compared to the Great Recession a decade ago, that is five and half times higher than publishers reported then. Digital reader revenue and digital readership continued to increase significantly – up nearly 27% and 36%, respectively last year (Outlook) – as audiences seek out quality journalism amid an uncertain “climate,” rife with misinformation and distrust. And, as publishers lean into digital subscriptions and audiences-first strategies as pillars of a sustainable future. While digital advertising remains a challenge on a number of fronts, revenues increased 8.8% last year (Outlook). Newspaper ad spend now makes up 5.7% of global ad spend (-2.2% YoY)." (Executive summary)