How does Fox News trim the work force during a terrible recession without mentioning layoffs at all? Just put out an “internal memo” announcing a sudden & comical “zero tolerance” for the constant fuckups and intentional lies that make Fox News so funny. (The memo went out Friday, so it didn’t mention today’s hilarious idiocy.) Expect about 45% of the Fox News staff to be jobless by New Year’s. [TPM]

MICHAEL STEELE FIRES ALL WHITE PEOPLE FROM RNC! “One week after Michael Steele won a hotly contested race to be the chairman of the Republican National Committee, he has cleaned house and laid off almost the entire RNC staff.” [Chris Cillizza]

Well here is some cheerful news for a Thursday! Everybody and their mom likes to file unemployment claims these days, on account of the no jobs anywhere, but the claims take forever to be processed because everybody at the unemployment office got laid off due to lack of funding. MORE »

Good christ, how do you like this Economy — especially all you poor doomed media people? But at least “New Deal” Washington is immune to the national media meltdown, right? Not so much. Join us for what will probably be a not-fun new feature about Washington metro publications and journalists getting the axe. What should we call it? Ah, how about “Blood on the Snow,” as tribute to the Father of Our District’s famous remarks about all the poor dumb shoeless Revolutionary War soldiers who died under his command, in wintertime. MORE »

Throughout 2008 we have relied on our beloved Detroit Free Press for exactly two things: transcripts of former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s fantastically erotic text messages, and blow-by-blow chronicles of the downfall of our once-proud American auto industry. Now the noble Freep and the other Detroit paper, The Detroit News, must fire some people and scale back their home delivery days because of the DEATH OF PRINT. MORE »

Holy Jesus God do you know how bad this recession is? So bad that one of the most recession-proof industries ever invented, THE WEATHER, has now hit upon hard times. The Weather Channel is laying off some untold number of staff, probably millions, more than the whole auto worker’s industry plus Wall Street combined, because there is no weather anywhere anymore. There’s just no budget for it. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Here’s a delicious chunk of schadenfreude for all of our uniformed men and women in the Gay Militia fighting the fundies out West: “[Colorado Springs-based ministry] Focus on the Family announced this afternoon that 202 jobs will be cut companywide, bringing the total number of employees to around 950. …The cutbacks come just weeks after the group pumped more than half a million dollars into the successful effort to pass a gay-marriage ban in California.” To the suddenly unemployed Culture Warriors in Colorado: don’t be upset! And please don’t complain? No complaining!! If you complain, Jesus will kill you. MORE »

Mitt Romney took an adventurous campaign turn today by trying to connect with the Fortune 500 C.E.O. crowd, a demographic that always votes for the most progressive, tax-hiking liberal candidates. He mentioned how hard it is to lay off workers, how much it eats away at your corporate humanity, and how he’s done it like 50 million times. Coincidentally, this purging of the soul took place before a Latino builders’ union. Ohhhh Mittens! MORE »

It’s a bloodbath at Time Inc as everyone who works for them but Joe Klein finds themselves out of work. MORE »

Post executive editor Len Downie reassures his battle-weary troops: MORE »