C&RL News April 2020 216 Gary Pattillo is reference librarian at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, e-mail: pattillo@ email.unc.edu Newspapers decline “Since 2004, newspapers have lost nearly half (47 percent) of newsroom staff. Nearly 1,800 newspapers—about 20 percent of the estimated national total— have closed.” Sara Fischer, Axios Media Trends , February 18, 2020, https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends- 9c8737e0-832d-40f4-bb3d-fd7b0e370e86.html (retrieved March 2, 2020). More newspapers decline “U.S. newspaper circulation fell in 2018 to its lowest level since 1940, the first year with available data. Total daily newspaper circulation (print and digital combined) was an estimated 28.6 million for weekday and 30.8 million for Sun- day in 2018. Those numbers were down 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from the previous year. Both figures are now below their lowest recorded levels, though weekday circulation first passed this threshold in 2013. Newspaper revenues declined dramatically between 2008 and 2018. Advertising revenue fell from $37.8 billion in 2008 to $14.3 billion in 2018, a 62 percent decline. Elizabeth Grieco, “Fast Facts about the Newspaper Industry’s Financial Struggles as McClatchy Files for Bankruptcy,” Pew Research Center (blog), https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/14/fast-facts-about-the-newspaper-industrys- financial-struggles (retrieved March 3, 2020). Smart speakers “In November 2019, the average U.S. home had 9.2 (Internet)-connected devices, of which audio devices (smart speakers) were the most prevalent category after mobile, connected TV, and computers/laptops. Smart speaker owners are typically using general non-purchase focused functions.” The most common use is asking general questions and getting weather, traffic, and sports updates. Cecelia Xu, “The Smart Speaker Frenzy and Why It’s Happening,” Comscore, Inc., https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog /The-Smart-Speaker-Frenzy-and-Why-Its-Happening (retrieved March 3, 2020). Coauthorship and academic careers “Early coauthorship with (highly cited) top scientists predicts success in aca- demic careers. Junior researchers who coauthor work with top scientists enjoy a persistent competitive advantage throughout the rest of their careers, compared to peers with similar early career profiles but without top coauthors.” Weihua Li, Tomaso Aste, Fabio Caccioli, and Giacomo Livan, “Early Coauthorship with Top Scientists Predicts Success in Academic Careers,” Nature Communications 10, no. 1 (November 15, 2019): 1–9, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467- 019-13130-4 (retrieved March 3, 2020). Characteristics of degree-granting postsecondary institutions “In academic year 2017–18, some 27 percent of 4-year institutions had open admissions policies (i.e., accepted all applicants), 29 percent accepted three- quarters or more of their applicants, 30 percent accepted from one-half to less than three-quarters of their applicants, and 14 percent accepted less than one-half of their applicants.” “The Condition of Education—Postsecondary Education—Postsecondary Institutions—Characteristics of Degree-Granting Post- secondary Institutions—Indicator May (2019),” The Condition of Education, U.S. Department of Education, https://nces.ed.gov /programs/coe/indicator_csa.asp (retrieved March 3, 2020). mailto:pattillo%40email.unc.edu?subject=Gary%20Pattillo mailto:pattillo%40email.unc.edu?subject=Gary%20Pattillo https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-9c8737e0-832d-40f4-bb3d-fd7b0e370e86.html https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-media-trends-9c8737e0-832d-40f4-bb3d-fd7b0e370e86.html https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/14/fast-facts-about-the-newspaper-industrys-financial-struggles https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/14/fast-facts-about-the-newspaper-industrys-financial-struggles https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/The-Smart-Speaker-Frenzy-and-Why-Its-Happening https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Blog/The-Smart-Speaker-Frenzy-and-Why-Its-Happening https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13130-4 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13130-4 https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_csa.asp https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_csa.asp