ABC to Lay Off 300

A Recessionwire reader sends this tip about a looming mass layoff at ABC:

High level sources at ABC News say that large staff cuts are pending, with the announcements coming as early as Wednesday. One ABC network anchor said that 300-400 permanent staffers will be let go. The cuts will come from staff positions at all of the networks news shows, including This Week with Diane Sawyer, Good Morning America, Nightline and 20/20. It’s also expected that some executive producers will get the axe along with the network’s entire special events department…

How to Map Out Your Dream Job

Ah, recession…a perfect time for career reassessment. Especially when you get tossed out of our job and need to figure out your next move — but also when the economic shakeup makes you realize you’re not all that satisfied with your work.

We’re loving this handy chart from the book How to Keep Your Cool if You Lose Your Job. (Full-sized version below.) You probably haven’t seen it, since author Kathryn Jackson lives in New Zealand. But it’s a wonderful way to visualize and measure all the different aspects of your work…

Why Entrepreneurs Aren’t Risk Lovers

Successful entrepreneurs need to have an outsized appetite for risk. They have to thrill to danger, relish the idea that they might lose it all with one roll of the dice.

Right?

Wrong, obviously, or we wouldn’t have written it that way. (Also, we probably would not have started a business.)

Many people have debunked those ideas, most recently Malcolm Gladwell, writing in the New Yorker. Using as examples Ted Turner and John Paulson, who famously made billions betting against the housing bubble, he argues that successful entrepreneurs are not braver than everyone else. Instead, they are very good at finding opportunities to minimize risk so they don’t have to be brave….

Recessionwire Turns One Year Old

What a year it has been. We have seen the he-men fall; retailers give us better discounts; the ups and downs of economic forecasts; and changes in gender balance on the home front. The world certainly feels different from a year ago, when “recession” was still cocktail-party chatter, not a serious matter of devastating losses of jobs, homes and savings. Back then, it seemed it would be a brief period of hunkering down; now, we know better.

But we see the positive, too: We’ve seen families get closer, our national savings rate improve, businesses get smarter, values re-emerge. We’ve seen individuals empowered by what they didn’t know they could do…

Downturnaround Deals: Proflowers, Victoria’s Secret, My Wines Direct, FTD, SkinStore

We make it easier to keep your spending in check, with weekly deals hand-picked for Recessionwire readers by the nice people over at Savings.com. This week we’ve got V-Day appropriate discounts. Spread the love.

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(See more My Wines Direct coupons.)…

We’re Looking for Social Media Interns!

Know the difference between a “tweet” and a “tweep”? Rabid Facebook user and constant community communicator? Talk to us about a social media internship at Recessionwire:

Recessionwire, a website featuring news, advice, perspective and humor about the recession and recovery, is seeking a marketing/social media intern to help increase brand awareness, drive traffic and expand a loyal user base…

Next Year Will Be a Better Year

When the ball drops at midnight and we say goodbye to 2009, look ahead with us at what we may hope for in 2010. All together now: We resolve to…

…get everyone (who wants one) a job. Unemployment benefits will run out for millions this year, but corporate profits are improving. Let’s turn this combo into a stronger job market.

…be a little more sure of our “recession is over” pronouncements. We’re talking about folks like Ben Bernanke, who talked of “green shoots” in March, but later pulled back from that. Or people like Larry Summers, who said that “everyone agrees the recession is over,” only to be followed up by others in the White House who softened that statement…

Most Popular Stories of 2009

In 2009 we lost our jobs, launched Recessionwire, found new gigs, lost one and left another, found new new jobs and freelance work, made countless new friends and learned more than we could have imagined. It’s been kind of awesome, thanks in no small part to our readers. We love you! And here’s what you loved to read on Recessionwire in 2009…

10. In October, we suggested readers Get Their Recession Scare On, with our downturn-themed Halloween costumes like the Bear Market and the Housing Bubble. Hilarious, even though we left out Sara’s idea of tossing on a plastic poncho and going as TARP.

9. Bad enough to lose your salary—the Incredible Shrinking Severance Check adds insult to injury…

Smart People Say We’re Still Kinda Screwed

“The odds are we flatten out,” said former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, talking today about the stock market in 2010. He didn’t mean it in a good way.

Despite the name of this site, we don’t want the recession to go forever. It would nice to feel some prosperity and stability again. But we are big on reality. And despite the rally in the stock market that has taken place over the last three months, and some good (ish) news about the economy, there are plenty of signs that we are not out of the woods yet. There are also smart people who are less than positive that a recovery is taking place—or if it is, whether it will last…

$972,000 Payday for Recession-beaten Couple

Countless bloggers, reporters and plain old curiosity-seekers have crisscrossed the country in the last year to get a bead on just how the recession is playing out for the real people. We’ve covered the filmmakers behind “The Recess Ends,” run a piece by the Man in a Van project and noted the many film and TV projects focused on reflecting the recession. TheAtlantic.com‘s intrepid reporter Christina Davidson has actually compelled authorities to action with her road-trip coverage of an elderly Sacramento couple in ill health who lost their home and landed on the street. The story got the attention of the Committee for Veterans Affairs, and days later, the couple received a check for $972,000 – the amount of 18 years of military pension back pay owed them…