Mass Firings At b5media: Entire Entertainment Network Shut

Blog network b5media has fired over 50 bloggers as part of a complete shut down of its entertainment blogs.

The purged included some of the networks longest serving bloggers who worked for b5media prior to funding (see disclosure at the end.)

The move would appear to be part of the ongoing process to restructure b5media for sale since the appointment of Elaine Kunda as CEO in July 2009.

The decision to terminate the Entertainment channel may indicate more serious issues for b5media. Former CEO Jeremy Wright maintained publicly and privately for many years that the entertainment blogs were the back bone of b5media; that they have fallen on bad days may indicate that b5media’s prospects going forward may be in terminal decline.

The roll up of various blogs last year, although a solid idea, also may have been a case of missing the boat. None of the rolled up sites are doing significant traffic according to Alexa.

We’re now putting b5media on death watch.

(disclosure: I was a founder of b5media but have had nothing to do with the company in many years.)