Membership of the Association of Opinion Journalists
One telling sign of the cutbacks is membership in the Association of Opinion Journalists, the organization that represents editorial writers and columnists. In 2006, before most newspaper downsizing took place, the AOJ had 549 members. Since then, membership has plunged 55%, to 245 this year.
Membership of the Association of  | Opinion Journalists  | 600  | 549  | 521 521  | 400  | 340  | 279  | 274  | 256  | 245  | 200  | '06 '07  | '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 2013  | Source: Association of Opinion Journalists  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 