Web's Revolving Door

As Reuters' Robert MacMillan writes, this has been one of the worst weeks for journalism in terms of job losses.

Now it's getting worse. Following layoffs at BusinessWeek and the Associated Press, The Washington Post has laid off an unspecified number of people working for washingtonpost.com, the paper's web site.

The bottom line is that the web site, long an entirely separate editorial operation, is being integrated back into the paper's newsroom, thus the perfect opportunity to cut payroll. But MacMillan says there are other motives:

The company, all my sources tell me, want to cut staff before the end of the year because next year the remainder would become unionized. Web staff are not unionized now. That, my sources say, would make it much more difficult for the money-losing Washington Post to cut costs by laying off people because they would be protected to some extent by their contract.

Here's another report about the layoffs from the Washington City & Press. And this from the Washington City Paper, which this afternoon wrote:

According to a knowledgeable source, the ranks of the RIFed number around ten so far.

City Desk is working on compiling a list of the dismissed, which reportedly includes at least one big industry name.

Former CNET executive vice president Stephen Colvin joined The Daily Beast as the news site's first president, paidContent reported.

Colvin will be responsible for revenue generation, audience development, brand development and social media at The Daily Beast and report to co-founder and editor in chief Tina Brown, according to paidContent. He will also oversee Beast Books, a new joint venture between the site and Perseus Books, and develop a series of events.

Prior to overseeing the entertainment and lifestyle divisions at CNET, Colvin was president and CEO of Dennis Publishing, where he launched the company's U.S. business, according to paidContent.

Friday has been a busy day for Web-based Twitter client Brizzly, as it launched in full public beta mode, added foreign-language translation via Google Translate and hired former Facebook and FriendFeed employee Ben Darnell, CNET and TechCrunch reported.

Brizzly had previously been available only via an invite code.

The translation feature works via a simple click of a question mark, according to CNET.

And Brizzly parent Thing Labs founder and CEO Jason Shellen told TechCrunch Darnell will work on "larger framework for communication and content discovery."

On Thursday WebNewser reported that AOL is seeking as many as 2,500 employees to step up and take a severance deal.

Now the Wall Street Journal has some details on AOL's "Voluntary Separation Program":

The company said Thursday it is asking for up to 2,500 people across all divisions to take buyout packages during a one-week program starting Dec. 4. If AOL doesn't reach that target, it intends to make involuntary layoffs, leaving the company with about 4,400 employees. ...

Employees who volunteer in December to give up their jobs will receive three to nine months pay and other benefits, depending on rank, a person familiar with the matter said. Employees who are laid off involuntarily will receive a package of one to four months.

Interestingly, WSJ reported, even amid the layoffs AOL is hiring for "some positions that [CEO Tim] Armstrong has pinpointed as essential to its growth, such as journalists."

Armstrong, a former Google executive, is attempting to reposition AOL from provider of subscription-based services to digital content powerhouse.

Our sister blog FishbowlNY has word that BusinessWeek media columnist Jon Fine will not be returning to the job from which he has been taking leave.

Amanda Ernst writes:

Today, we have been following the tweets of departing BusinessWeek writers and editors as they get word from the bosses at Bloomberg LP about layoffs.

Although we knew no one was safe, we were shocked to learn that media columnist Jon Fine, who has been enjoying a six-month sabbatical since September, would not be returning to the magazine after it gets taken over by its new parent.

Fine tweeted earlier today: "some sabbaticals last longer than others: I will not be returning to BusinessWeek and my column once Bloomberg owns the mag."

Fine is married to Laurel Touby, founder of mediabistro. They are taking time off to travel the globe. Ernst has more details here.

MTV Networks vice president of integrated marketing Catherine Balsam-Schwaber joined NBC Universal-owned women's online destination iVillage as senior VP of marketing, where she will lead all brand strategy and marketing efforts, as well as driving synergistic cross-media partnerships and developing and managing internal relationships across NBCU.

While at MTVN, Balsam-Schwaber oversaw advertiser-driven content initiatives, ranging from branded entertainment to product placement. Prior to working with the cable programmer, she held executive posts with Rock the Vote and Time Warner.

iVillage executive VP Jodi Kahn said:

Catherine has extraordinary experience building brands and creating powerful marketing partnerships. She is the perfect choice to evolve the iVillage brand positioning as the largest content-driven community for women on the Web.

The Associated Press this week laid off 57 editorial staffers, the latest grim news for media professionals. And then there's a green shoot.

PR Daily writes, "Despite the layoffs taking place at the Associated Press this week, the news organization is hiring a social media manager."

Here's a link from Inside AP to the job posting for a "Manager, Engagement and Social Media" to work in the news organization's New York City office and "lead a small team responsible for the AP's use of social media and core engagement with the public through social networks."

If you're interested in the job, you might be interested in reading 5 qualities of a good social media manager. (Yes, that was a shameless plug.)

On Wednesday WebNewser reported that AOL is rebranding its main news page as Sphere. Our post included a quote from Sphere's "About" page regarding "the enthusiasm behind the project."

Now AOL is asking employees to muster some enthusiasm for a new project. According to All Things Digital's Peter Kafka, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong told his staff he's looking for "up to 2,500 volunteers." As in, volunteers to lose their jobs. Kafka writes:

The voluntary layoff program begins on December 4, a few days before the company spins off from Time Warner (TWX). If the company doesn't get enough volunteers, it will axe people on its own.

It its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, AOL said it intended to reduce its workforce by one-third "on a voluntary and involuntary basis" as part of a post-Time Warner restructuring.

This morning WebNewser reported that Slate's DoubleX web site for women was being folded back into Slate.com. We also speculated that layoffs may not be far behind.

They may well have begun. paidContent.org's David Kaplan reports that DoubleX publisher Peggy White is departing and will be considering her options.

Then paidContent.org updated that item with this: "A DoubleX rep told paidContent that there are no layoffs connected with the site's demise."

Call whatever is happening with White anything you want: The fact is, she's essentially gone and it doesn't sound like she has another gig lined up. WebNewser also has been told that an editor is leaving or already may have left.

According to paidContent.org, DoubleX has more than two dozen contributors. That's a lot of contributors for a site section. Of course, it's fair to wonder these days how many of them are getting paid. Whatever that number is, it'll probably be smaller soon. Media companies don't downsize sites into sections to save on pixels.

ABCNews president David Westin announced the promotions of ABCNews.com editorial leaders Deirdre Michalopoulos and Ed O'Keefe in an email to staffers.

Michalopoulos was elevated to senior managing editor, shows and show integration, and she will be responsible for managing, developing and creating content for all ABC News program sites on ABCNews.com, as well as ensuring that the digital content fits with and reinforces the programs and managing relationships with New York-based programs.

And O'Keefe was promoted to managing editor of ABCNews.com, assuming responsibility for daily production, managing technical issues and continuing to integrate initiatives such as redesign and search-engine optimization.

Michalopoulos and O'Keefe will continue to report to ABCNews.com vice president Jon Dube.

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