A Bailout for Journalists? It’s no $700B, But…

Are you a laid-off newspaper reporter or feature writer starting to sweat in today’s ever-shrinking traditional media landscape? (I’m looking at you, former East Valley Tribune staff…and BizAZ staff…and Arizona Republic staff.) Six Apart, the maker of the TypePad blog platform, has the solution to all your woes — the Journalist Bailout Program, now accepting applications.

No, you won’t get an actual slice of the federal $700B bailout pie — but you will get a fancy-pants TypePad Pro account (A $150 value!), as well as some help with blog advertising and promotion to put you on the path to an online-based paycheck. Because, as the website states, “Your Tumblr and Tweets, while clever, will not pay your bills.”

Jim Lehrer can promise that the news ain’t dead, but it’s hard to argue that it’s not losing blood. With layoffs at pubs from the New York Times and glossy mags down to every little small-town tattler, it’s clear that journalism isn’t making the shift to digital without some hefty losses –- and that something’s gotta be done.

But somehow I doubt this is the new online revenue stream that will save the day. If no one’s left in the newsroom earning a salary to dig up great stories, where are all these rescued journalists going to get their material? Because god knows we don’t need a thousand more versions of “Seven Tips to Lose Weight Fast.”

written at November 24th, 2008 and is filed under News Stories, Online News, Trends. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.