• by Wayne Friedman , December 15, 2008

CBS is the latest major media company to trim staff--but those cuts are initially pegged to selective programming positions.

About a dozen or so employees at both CBS Entertainment and CBS Paramount Network TV will be departing. This includes Maria Crenna, executive vice president of CBS Paramount, as well as senior vice president of comedy development Brian Banks, according to a number of media industry reports.

Unlike NBC, which merged its network programming and studio production operations, CBS will keep CBS Entertainment and the network production unit, CBS Paramount Network Television, intact--for now.

Still, analysts expect that after the first of the year other networks and media companies will be forced to slash jobs, as the industry braces for what economists are forecasting as a long and sustained recession.

Two media companies--NBC Universal and Viacom, CBS' sister company--recently announced hundreds of staff reductions. NBC said it would slash 500 jobs, and Viacom said it would trim 850 workers.