Newsroom layoffs will be brutal in 2020

Even after the financial crisis, the annual number of newsroom layoffs won't come close what we're expected to see this year during the coronavirus pandemic, according to new data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

By the numbers: In the first 6 months of 2020, more than 11,000 newsroom jobs have been lost. That's nearly as many as were lost in all of 2009.

Why it matters: It could take years for the industry to recover from the thousands of lost jobs and cuts.

• And it will ultimately push thousands of talented journalists out of the industry, many for good.

Driving the news: A slew of media organizations last week announced that previously-announced laid off staffers would be officially laid off.

• McClatchy laid off 85 furloughed staffers last week, most in advertising.
• The Guardian laid off 180 people, including 70 people in editorial.
• BBC laid off 70 people last week, adding to the hundreds of job cuts its already made.
• Vox Media laid off 72 furloughed staffers last week.

What's next: It's not going to end there. Sources tell The New York Post that broad-based layoffs are headed for NBCUniversal.

Go deeper: No media publisher is immune in the coronavirus era