Difficult times for them 50-somethings, Conde Nast folk

Oh no. It's beat on the "old" today. Old, being a relative thing. And not getting it being a relative thing because Tina Brown, 55, says she gets what's happening with media as it shifts from dead-tree editions to digital. Those other folks? Well .....

"It's most difficult, I think, for the people who are in their 50s who are part of a big media organization where they've spent most of their lives. They see it all changing around them and there isn't time for them to make the adjustment, or they fear making it."

That's a quote pulled from today's Chicago Tribune under a headline "Tina Brown: Media will flourish." Poynter's Romensko headline was: "Difficult Times for Old-Media People in their 50s"
and he pulled a more optimistic quote:

"They see it all changing around them and there isn't time for them to make the adjustment, or they fear making it," says Tina Brown. "We're in a transitional period that I think will only last another few years in which [journalists are] not paid the way they were. ...If you're up to seeing the opportunity and recognize it as a transition, or you have enough put away to ride this wave, it's going to be fantastic."

Optimistic is not how you'd describe the mood at Conde Nast, according to the New York Observer. The magazine side of the Newhouse family's media collection is gloomy with the hiring of a consultant (McKinsey and Company), the huge drop in ad sales (37!) for the important September issues, and issuing of an internal memo about the consultant. There are even rumors of a video conference for employees coming up.

Brown left Conde Nast, traditionally a money making division of Advance Publications, 11 years ago.

Let's go back to mulling who sets the blogging rules, the new generational divider.

By the way, when did 55 become the new 65?