Nick Denton
Gawker Media Sells Idolator, Gridskipper; Spins Off Wonkette
A source deep inside the Gawker Media empire forwards us the news that there are big changes to Nick Denton's blog empire. In an email message from Mr. Denton to his staff—which he pre-emptively encourages them to leak—he announces a pair of sites being sold another being spun off.
Email from Mr. Denton follows:
I'm amazed we've managed to keep a lid on this news; that, given your naturally gossipy natures, must be a first! We're spinning off three sites: Idolator, Gridskipper and—this one may be a surprise—Wonkette. There were indeed some rumors about Maura Johnston's music blog late last year; they were true of course. For reasons that I'll explain below, both it and our travel and politics sites have better commercial futures outside Gawker than within. (Excuse the corporate lingo: some of it is unavoidable.) But, first, the facts, which will be hitting the wires later this morning, or as soon as you leak this email. Go ahead! read more »
Gawker's New Elizabeth Street Home
Gawker has a new home at 210 Elizabeth Street, and it's on the fourth floor! Sheila McClear is a big fan of the new place, which includes a telephone booth—Gawker's very own crying room.
Tina Brown and Barry Diller to Start an 'Aggregator Site'
Over at Radar, Neel Shah is reporting that Tina Brown is partnering with Barry Diller to develop what Ms. Brown called "a new take on an aggregator website."
Edward Felsenthal, a former editor of the Wall Street Journal, will be the editor. There aren't many other details—Brown didn't give a launch date, or really any specifics—but apparently there will be no "ideological stance." read more »
Maggie Shnayerson Out at Gawker
Gawker media reporter Maggie Shnayerson was laid off last night. Nick Denton, managing editor of the site and owner of parent company Gawker Media, confirmed the break-up.
"He basically said page views were not meeting his expectations for the site," Shnayerson later said, when we contacted her about the split.
She said she was told about the firing via an email that arrived last night; Shnayerson was as of today the longest-serving editor presently appearing on Gawker's masthead; she's been working there since September. read more »
New Gawker Reporter Quits, Rips Site
One day after being announced as a "media reporter" for Gawker, Richard Morgan has quit—and dished to New York magazine's Daily Intel about the experience. Choice quote: "Jesus spent three days in Hell. I could only handle one."
And of course, Nick Denton has responded, in similarly unconciliatory terms.
Nick Denton To Take Over As Gawker Editor
Nick Denton, the founder of Gawker Media, will take over as managing editor of the company's flagship site, Gawker.com, The New York Times reports, citing three employees.
Mr. Denton had been looking for a replacement since Choire Sicha resigned as managing editor at the end of last month, and indicated in a job listing for the position that he wants the site to break and develop more stories.
Radar Party: Everyone Looks Like Someone Who Knows Someone Who Was Invited
Around 9pm at the New Museum on Bowery, Radar editor Maer Roshan, dressed in an extremely well-fitting John Varvatos suit, was standing next to the bar. The suit was dark, but it wasn't entirely clear what color it was in a dimly lit room on the ground floor.
Mr. Roshan's magazine was throwing a party intended to honor "the most exciting rogues, renegades, and rule-breakers of the year." Film-maker Craig Brewer, writer Shalom Auslander, and Squid and the Whale star Jesse Eisenberg, among other rogues, renegades, and rule-breakers, were in attendance.
As Mr. Roshan surveyed the room, he considered the best time of year to host a party. "Summer, I think." read more »
Gawker Loses Third Editor in Three Days
On Friday, Nov. 30, readers of an item on Gawker.com which was nominally about author and editor Keith Gessen were told that the Web site's managing editor, Choire Sicha, and editor Emily Gould were quitting.
On Monday, Dec. 3, nightlife editor Josh Stein told The Media Mob, he'll do the same.
"The reasons I'm quitting are kind of personal," he told Media Mob on Sunday night. "It has nothing to do with the job. I'm actually really happy with the job." read more »
New York Magazine Party: High-School Math, But Few Bold-Faced Names
Adam Moss stood with a glass in champagne in one corner, Look Book's Amy Larocca was in another, and social princess Ally Hilfiger was sitting on a plush couch catching up with old high school friends ("We took retarded math!" exclaimed one. "Like, we did decimals" she replied). But as for familiar editorial faces, there was only a handful last night at the Bowery Hotel, as Mr. Moss' New York magazine celebrated its newly published Look Magazine with a party for fashion and advertising types.
New York publisher Lawrence Burstein, who went much of the night without a drink, and didn't look to be having much fun, said that his magazine goes without any competition, but also said that he reads Vanity Fair, The Economist and The New York Times Magazine.
Lockhart Steele and Nick Denton were sitting at the bar as the free drinks came to an end around 8:30. Asked about the lack of familiar media faces, a New York spokeswoman said, "Well, we can't invite everyone."
Gawker Boss Nick Denton, Frequent IM Interview Subject, Explains What He Has Against E-Mail Interviews
UPDATE: Low-graphics wins! Valleywag posts at 8:03 p.m., 9 minutes after the Media Mob.
What's The Frequency, Lockhart?
A man named Michael, owner of Tungsten Properties, wouldn't give his last name when we called to ask him about it, though he admits he showed up at the door of the company looking for Steele.
Steele said Michael called the Gawker offices and sent him a text message and called him, asking him to take down a post on the real-estate blog Curbed. (In addition to being managing editor of Gawker media, owned by Soho web titan Nick Denton, Steele is a founder of Curbed and a group of related sites devoted to architecture and food.)
The item of contention was a reader's comment, actually, on a post Curbed did about Time Out New York's cover feature, "The 50 Best Blocks in New York."
The reader wrote Curbed an email, purporting to work at Tungsten Properties, located at 13 Crosby, and said of the block of Howard Street between Broadway and Mercer Street (No. 19 on the Time Out list): "Number 19 is a fucking atrocity" and "a blight to Soho."
"This somehow triggered Armageddon for him [Michael]," Steele said.
And when Michael didn't get a response from Steele, he took it one step further and walked down the street to the offices to look for him--asking Denton and other Gawker employees for Steele and generally giving off a creepy, "What's the frequency, Kenneth?" kind of vibe.
(Or weirder? One passerby said Michael "said he was furious he couldn't get a hold of anyone at Curbed ... that you can't just say someone hates black jews.")
Steele got the message they were there and called Michael, and asked him to go back to the Tungsten offices and draft a response to the post that was steaming them up.
"We've spoken to just about all of our agents at Tungsten Properties and none of them have written this," a source at Tungsten tells TRE. "This is very unlike us and not only do we love our neighborhood and we're working on investment site around the corner. We're very proud of our neighborhood and we wouldn't write it like that."
Steele refused to take the post down but has updated the contentious item with a statement from Tungsten (here).
- Gillian ReaganGawker Media: Where Are They Now?
Since so much time has passed, The Transom thought it might be fun to investigate just where those youngsters all ended up! read more »
VF, February, 2006, Jim Windolf.
Gawker Officially MSM; Denton Unaware
Gawker media chief Nick Denton expressed surprise about the arrangement. Asked about Gawker appearing in the database via instant message, Denton typed back, "It did?" read more »
The postings come with a disclaimer from Newstex, which runs to more words than the average Gawker entry and explains that the views are "solely the author's." Full disclaimer after the jump.
Gawker Moves to Crosby Street
Can bloggers still wear pajamas to the office?
Fishbowl is reporting that Gawker Media chief Nick Denton is eyeing space at 89 Crosby Street as headquarters for his blogging empire.
Mr. Denton lives nearby at 76 Crosby Street, where Harvey Weinstein also resides. And with renovations currently underway in Kelly Ripa's duplex penthouse at 76 Crosby, the office might provide a nice refuge.
We're still waiting for a comment from Mr. Denton. Hopefully, he'll IM us back. read more »
- Michael Calderone
