You know the economy's bad, when ...

Hugh Hefner has to cut back on expenses. :)

From the UK Telegraph:

Tycoon Hugh Hefner has been advised to cut back on staff at his multi-million dollar glamour empire as it struggles to cope during the global economic turmoil.

The 83-year-old has been told to lay off some of his staff at his Los Angeles and New York offices as soon as this month or go bankrupt.

Article here. Actually, I'm kinda surprised that Playboy's still in business. With a veritable smorgasbord of free, high resolution / high definition pron but a Google search and a mouse click away, it's hard to see how Playboy can ultimately stay in business, particularly with the kind of expenses that maintaining Hef's lifestyle and image must incur. It's hard to compete with free, and I'm guessing not that many people actually read the magazine "for the articles". :)

I think Playboy has tried to develop online subscription websites and a pay-per-view and/or premium cable TV channels, but again, all of that stuff -- photos, videos -- is available online for free, and sliced up into very targeted niches. Looking for photos and videos of bi-sexual college coeds performing BDSM blowjobs in tight latex outfits? There's probably a website specializing in just that (and no, I didn't check). So why pay for a Playboy subscription when you can get such content on the web, in more targeted forms, and much greater quantity, often for free?