Our annual state of the union address

The Project for Excellence in Journalism's annual survey of the state of the news media has really become the authoritative source for how we're doing as an industry.  This year's fifth annual report delivers once again.  It is a must read.

If nothing else, a glance at the major trends is helpful as we seek to set operational agendas.

• News is shifting from becoming a product to a service i.e. how can you help me?
• News brands are no longer final destinations (we should point elsewhere)
• User-generated content has more limited value than some thought
• Newsrooms are starting to innovate; advertising sales is not

There's a big punch in the gut too -- about that bugaboo we've been concerned about for such a long time:  How can we support our work financially?  The report offers this sobering thought:

The crisis in journalism... may not strictly be loss of audience. It may, more fundamentally, be the decoupling of news and advertising.

As it is every year, this report is deep, dense and packed with statistics.  But is it a page turner for anyone in our business.  I recommend you click through.