Jobless Media Workers Get the Banker Treatment
Remember back in February when Mayor Bloomberg announced a program to "retrain" laid-off Wall Streeters for careers in other professions? No word yet on how former Bear Stearns brokers and Lehman mortgage traders have adjusted to their new careers as "repossession collection specialists"—a booming profession, we should point out—but the early signs must be encouraging, since Bloomberg now says he plans to do the same thing with unemployed media professionals, too:
Another initiative, called "JumpStart New Media," will create a boot camp retraining program for traditional media professionals looking to restart their careers on the digital side.
The program will train 50 participants per month, and offer unpaid 10-week apprenticeships at new media companies. The boot camp is expected to launch in September.
The city will also launch a media "freelancer hive" at 55 Broad St., in partnership with the Downtown Alliance. A 5,000-square-foot space will be fitted to provide short-term workspace for 50 digital media freelancers.
Just be grateful the "boot camp" and "freelancer hive" doesn't come with an "incubator," too.
