By Jeremy Ambers

Over the past year, our nation has watched as the financial infrastructure has pretty much devoured itself.  Investment banks wish they had a “do-over,” while the “Big 3” have crawled on hands and knees (well, actually, flown in private jets) to the steps of the Capital, begging for some salvation from the government.  Pretty much everyone I know (from close friends, to large corporations) have begun to cut spending and save in preparation for the impending storm.  Gone are the days of careless investing and blindfolded development.  Which leaves one question for the Media Industry:  What about us?

“I can’t help but wonder why financial institutions and the automotive industry are considered so vital to our economic stability, yet media and communications are perceived as having so little relevance,” writes Jack Myers, a media insider. 

Sure, much of the Media and Advertising revenue depends on the auto industry.  Just watch an hour of television on any station and count how many car commercials and product placements you see if you don’t believe me (Jack Bauer, I’m looking at you and your shiny new Ford Expedition!).  But while the media is reporting all of the financial devastation in our country, it fails to reflect upon itself. 

I just read this morning that NBC has announced it will launch Jay Leno’s new show at 10 pm, five nights a week.  Great news for revenue as his viewership will undoubtedly grow in an earlier timeslot.  Bad news for anyone in the industry who was hoping to develop new content for the three hour primetime block, which is now reduced to two. “Can we continue to program 22 hours of prime time? Three of our competitors don’t,” NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker said Monday at an industry conference, according to a published report.

NBC Universal also recently cut 500 jobs in an effort to cut their budget for 2009.  In fact, since 2002, the entire media industry has cut nearly 10% of its workforce.  Over 100,000 jobs have disappeared, with speculation that another 100,000 could fall by the wayside as early as next year.

Since the government likes to stick their hands into the media industry involving everything from defining “appropriate content” to forcing TV stations to invest billions of dollars into the digital conversion, why do they turn a blind eye when it comes to the slow death of mass media?

I’m not saying any bailout is wrong or right.  Only time will tell.  But who decides which industry is salvageable, and how?