• ADVERTISEMENT

    4 Minute Roundup: Media Company Layoffs; Omidyar Startup

    by Mark Glaser
    November 20, 2009

    Here’s the latest 4MR audio report from MediaShift. In this week’s edition, I look at the deep layoffs that are planned at AOL, the AP and BusinessWeek. In the case of AOL, the company plans to shed one-third of its workforce, or 2,500 staffers. eBay founder Pierre Omidyar announced plans to launch a news startup in Hawaii that will combine citizen journalism with professional reporting to cover local civic issues. I asked Just One Question to Bayosphere founder Dan Gillmor about Omidyar’s venture.

    Check it out:

    ADVERTISEMENT
    4mrbareaudio112009.mp3

    Background music is “What the World Needs” by the The Ukelele Hipster Kings via PodSafe Music Network.

    Here are some links to related sites and stories mentioned in the podcast:

    Google Makes AOL’s Turnaround Task Even Harder at AllThingsD

    ADVERTISEMENT

    AOL Slashing A Third Of Staff; Armstrong Will Forego ’09 Bonus at PaidContent

    AOL shows worst not over for media job cuts at Reuters

    Layoffs begin at BusinessWeek at Talking Biz News

    With Latest Layoffs, AP Hits Goal Of Reducing Payroll By 10 Percent at PaidContent

    Aloha at Peer News blog

    Omidyar to the Rescue of Professional News? at BusinessWeek

    eBay Founder Starting Online News Site at InformationWeek

    Ebay Founder Omidyar Shuttering His Twitter Project Ginx, To Launch Online News Site at ReadWriteWeb

    Why it Matters that Pierre Omidyar is Launching a News Startup at MediaShift Idea Lab

    Here’s the whole interview with Dan Gillmor:

    Here’s a graphical view of last week’s MediaShift survey results. The question was: “What if Rupert Murdoch takes all News Corp. content out of Google?”

    i-b45a1d49387b66a2da867d581c280b85-survey murdoch grab.jpg

    Also, be sure to vote in our poll about what will happen due to all the media company layoffs.

    Mark Glaser is executive editor of MediaShift and Idea Lab. He also writes the bi-weekly OPA Intelligence Report email newsletter for the Online Publishers Association. He lives in San Francisco with his son Julian. You can follow him on Twitter @mediatwit.

    Tagged: aol associated press businessweek layoffs peer news pierre omidyar

    Comments are closed.

  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • ADVERTISEMENT
  • Who We Are

    MediaShift is the premier destination for insight and analysis at the intersection of media and technology. The MediaShift network includes MediaShift, EducationShift, MetricShift and Idea Lab, as well as workshops and weekend hackathons, email newsletters, a weekly podcast and a series of DigitalEd online trainings.

    About MediaShift »
    Contact us »
    Sponsor MediaShift »
    MediaShift Newsletters »

    Follow us on Social Media

    @MediaShiftorg
    @Mediatwit
    @MediaShiftPod
    Facebook.com/MediaShift