We hear that JupiterMediaWebMediaBrands, the company that bought Mediabistro for $23 million in 2007, has laid off 60(?) people [UPDATED below]. Most were tech workers and various parent company staffers. The lone Mediabistro casualty:

Laurel Touby's assistant. Who will tie your boa now, Laurel? Time to put those middle-class millionaire skills to work.

If the assistant was responsible for keeping Laurel's mass emails under control, expect trouble soon.

[Additional details or denials here. JupiterMedia changed its name to WebMediaBrands last month.]

UPDATE: The 60 layoffs are confirmed. Silicon Alley Insider has the staff memo from CEO Alan Meckler. MB-related highlight:

Specifics on our business: we have witnessed firsthand the huge decline in revenue with the Mediabistro job board numbers. This powerful and vibrant business used to run paid listings for 200 plus jobs a day. Presently the number is significantly lower. Advertising, the lifeblood of Internet.com, has declined markedly in the recent quarter. Event registrations have been weakening. Our biggest gain has been in the online "learn" area and in overall traffic growth across all of our communities (Graphics.com, Internet.com and Mediabistro). Growth in traffic bodes well for the company. Once the economy turns neutral and then positive, greater traffic will equal big revenue growth.