• Los Angeles Times, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 11:45 AM

On Friday, Nick Denton's Gawker Media announced widespread layoffs across its stable of blogs such as Consumerist and Deadspin, not to mention its namesake, Gawker. Denton blamed the economic slowdown and its impact on Internet advertising, and many took it as a sign of things to come across the blogosphere. But signs suggest things the outlook might not be so gloomy elsewhere.

Giga Omni Media on Monday said it had raised $4.5 million for its tech-related blog network, which includes GigaOm, NewTeeVee and Web Worker Daily. Meanwhile, the Huffington Post had a record number of unique visitors in September and says it has seen no signs of a slowdown regarding advertising. Also, Content Next Media, which runs PaidContent.org, has just hired two new writers and is looking to add more.

The fact is, plenty of professional bloggers are bullish on their prospects in the down economy, believing that advertising in search of even greater ROI will flock to the Web. Indeed, blogs may be among the most attractive Web properties, some say, because they focus on a single subject and guarantee reaching a particular demographic.

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