LAYOFFS.COM

February 2001
		If the recent happenings in the Internet news industry are any indication, now might not be the time to seek out that online reporting job of your dreams. What's behind the recent spate of online news layoffs? Three experts take your questions.

Forum introduction Will tech jobs be affected by the economic downturn? Will news sites' staffs build back up to their pre-layoff size? What should one do to become a Web journalist? Are there still Web jobs to be had? Is the building stage over at news sites?     Online Special Layoffs.com Online Special Media Watch

After several years of nearly unchecked growth, several major news organizations have decided it's time to tighten their online belts. Among the companies cutting their staffs are CNN, which eliminated 100 Web positions after parent Time Warner merged with America Online. The New York Times laid off 17 percent of its digital staff, and the online magazine Salon.com laid off 20 percent of its employees. Some news organizations say the online layoffs are part of an overall restructuring effort, tying Internet divisions more closely with their broadcast or print counterparts. But for many, the cuts come after years of ballooning Web budgets and a slowdown in Internet advertising. Will downsizing continue in the Internet news industry? Can news sites make money? What will smaller news staffs mean for the quality of content online? David Talbot, chairman and editor-in-chief of Salon.com; Neil Budde, editor and publisher of Wall Street Journal.com; and Hoag Levins, former executive editor of crime site APBNews.com, now editor of AdAge.com, the Web site of Advertising Age magazine, respond to your questions.