On My Radar: Media Job Layoffs Across All Platforms & The Impact On Original Content Creators

The economic crisis isn’t just affecting those working for corporate media owned digital properties.

Epic-Fu, one of my favorite web shows/original content-driven communities, recently announced that their web licensing partner Revision 3 would no longer be able keep them on as part of their network of shows. As a result, Smashface productions had to let go three of their Epic-Fu employees.

My instincts tell me they did this as an alternative to taking on sponsors who didn’t fit their message and would diminish their brand authenticity. They can afford to make this kind of choice because they are a small outfit and will be able to continue creating their content, even with less staff. Their current model works for them. This is one of the benefits of running your own company and controlling your message, but what happens when your growing company can’t find advertisers who support your content – and how do you allow this to inform what you are creating?

– YouTube star Fred creates episodes to promote the ZIPIT device

(More about the impact of sponsors on original content creators, after the jump!)
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