According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, PR professionals outnumber journalists by 3 to 1.
The numbers are possibly much higher by now: the data dates from 2008.
Per 100.000 population there were 0.9 PR professionals in 2008 vs. 0.25 journalists.
From 1997 to 2007 there has been a 30% job growth in independent Public Relations. This excludes in-house PR or PR departments in advertising or SEO agencies.
Meanwhile newspaper newsrooms are 30% smaller than they were in 2000, according to Pew Research.
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That really makes you wonder just whose version of the news you read is correct. Fortunately nowadays it’s easy to check stories in multiple sources, but often you still end up making a more-or-less educated guess as to the real story.