According to several inside sources, the Village Voice continued its cost-cutting measures Thursday, dismissing two reporters for budgetary reasons. The paper’s copy chief also resigned in protest after the deputy copy chief was laid off Wednesday.

The deputy copy chief, Shazdeh Omari, was then brought back after Rick Szykowny’s resignation. The two reporters, Sean Gardiner and Maria Luisa Tucker, joined the Village Voice in 2006, after the paper was purchased by New Times Media.

Three staff writers remain to report for the newspaper—Wayne Barrett, Chloé Hilliard and Graham Rayman.

The Voice also cut staff last Friday, laying off long-time photo editor Staci Schwartz and sex columnist Tristan Taormino.

Since current editor Tony Ortega joined the paper in March 2007, at least 17 staffers in the print side have been laid off, fired or have quit, and all but three of those have been women, including our Managing Editor Tricia Romano.

Representatives at the Village Voice had not responded to requests for comment at the time of this posting. Tony Ortega later wrote in “Our current staffing is 16 women and 15 men. Just in case you were wondering.”

Recent turmoil has not been limited to print media publications. Gawker Media publisher Nick Denton said in a staff-wide memo Friday that 19 editorial positions (out of 133 total) were being cut, and pageview bonuses were being suspended beginning in the first quarter of 2009.

Despite Gawker Media’s 30 percent growth in advertising sales over a year ago, Denton said the current teetering of the economy meant advertisers could withdraw their ad purchases at any time. “But now the credit crisis is clearly going to affect every sector of the economy,” Denton wrote in the memo. “Advertising buys typically plunge after the Christmas shopping season, and 2009 is obviously going to be exceptionally difficult. We have to prepare for the worst, now, rather than when the worst comes upon us.”

Denton also hired print journalist Gabriel Snyder to take over as managing editor, bucking the previous trend of hiring media outsiders to run and write for the site.

But while some online media outlets are preparing for a tough time ahead and cutting costs, others are expanding to get more of a foothold in the online market. Buzznet, an online media company focusing on music coverage, announced Wednesday it hired—like Gawker— a printer journalist, former New York Times music reporter Jeff Leeds as the group’s editor-in-chief. Leeds, along with additional new hire Leslie Simon, will be responsible for increasing the news coverage on Buzznet’s sites, which also include the blogs Idolator and Stereogum.

Buzznet General Manager Scott Boyd said in a press release that the time was right to add staff.

“Both are joining us at a very important and exciting time, as we gear up to expand our editorial coverage and unveil new content features that are sure to resonate with our music community, as well as anyone with an interest in music,” Boyd said.

In an ironic twist, Buzznet purchased Idolator from Gawker Media in April, after the company received an additional $25 million in additional funding.