Media firm Six Apart — the founders and former owners of blog site LiveJournal — has introduced a "bailout plan" for once-pro bloggers that have lost their jobs.

The TypePad Journalist Bailout Program is offering 20 to 30 bloggers and journalists a free TypePad Pro account, complete with professional tech support, placement on Blogs.com, and auto-enrollment into Six Apart's revenue-sharing ad network. The complete package is worth about $150 per user per year.

Blogger and Six Apart VP Anil Dash says nearly 300 applications have come in since the company announced the bailout plan on November 14. "It was a bit of a surprise how quickly word got out," said Dash. "This has struck a nerve."

Last month blog network Gawker Media announced 19 cuts in its 133-person editorial department. Payment options for existing bloggers were also revised, with pageview bonuses withdrawn for the near future.

Tech rumor site Valleywag was also incorporated into Gawker. Besides the editor, who will write broader tech news under the flagship label, the only other Valleywag writer is slated to leave at month's end.

The Financial Times reported plans to reduce its staff by 60, primarily in communications. Finally, Nielsen Business Media reorganized editorial desks for news mags/sites Adweek, Brandweek and Mediaweek, consolidating them into a single content center.