Media Companies Cull 30,000 in Fight for Their Future

Citing the effects of a recession that's prompting marketers to trim budgets and the number of media outlets they work with, media companies are shedding jobs at a furious rate. But the deep cuts they're making are as much about these conglomerates shedding their old media models as they are about the economy. The media industries have shed more than 30,000 jobs in 2008, according to an Ad Age analysis of Department of Labor employment statistics and news reports. That's about 3.5% of the total media work force of 858,000. Since the bubble-inflated high-water mark in 2000, media has lost more than 200,000 jobs. The latest round of restructuring is driven by two concurrent forces: On the one hand, there's a crippling recession that is crushing marketing budgets; on the other hand, there is the ongoing effect of the fragmentation of audiences. "Collectively, media will continue to be strong," said Group M Chief Investment Officer Rino Scanzoni. "We are looking at a generation of people that have grown up with multiple media that are now becoming major consumers. Viewing has increased; it's just fragmented over more pieces. It's about weaving those pieces together to accomplish your advertising objectives."