MediaShift

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:

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

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?"

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.