Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Topic A in Rapidly Shrinking Medialand: What's Your Plan B?

Topic A in Rapidly Shrinking Medialand: What's Your Plan B?
In the Midst of Seismic Shifts in the Industry, It's Not Just About Job Loss; This Is a Full-Blown Identity Crisis
By Simon Dumenco
Advertising Age

A famous newspaper columnist calls me to seek deep background about a company I used to work for, but instead we mostly end up talking about how much we're worrying about our newly unemployed media-world friends. Over coffee, an influential blogger tells me he's relieved his paycheck still clears, and then speaks of a depressed former colleague who, laid off and unable to find work, moved back in with his mother. An agency executive tells me of the "morgue-like" atmosphere in his newly downsized division. A former editor of mine, unceremoniously released from his gilded cage at Condé Nast, calls to tell me he's thinking of abandoning his two-decade career in magazines altogether, since there are simply no jobs to be found. Another famous newspaper columnist tells me that Topic A in his newsroom is, "What's your Plan B?"

It's all very "Groundhog Day": the same conversation over and over and over again.

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1 comment:

Kathryn Magendie said...

god...distressing!

Our Asheville Times is either getting ready to lay off, or has laid off workers - *sigh*