Joshua David Stein

Like a mighty rainstorm over the parched Sahara, yesterday’s Page Six Magazine profile of Byrdie Bell offered sweet promise to Manhattan’s socialite landscape, which has grown decidedly athirst for new blood. And though Ms. Bell’s been around, smiling for Patrick McMullan at glittery galas for a few years now, our understanding of her was just that—rather two dimensional. Not so anymore. In just three short pages, Gawker’s soon-to-depart Joshua David Stein gives us exactly what the social doctor ordered.

Leave it to the Post to title the piece “Byrdie of Paradise,” whose pictures of the 22-year-old are attended by—what else?—exotic birds. But beside the photos, readers learn not only that Ms. Bell understands that affection is often expressed with puke, but in the lyrical styling of her musical-social boyfriend, James “Bingo” Gubelmann, too: “Bella was bored to death at South Beach/Not one celebrity spotted in days/She was tired of her mood/Lunchin’ on vegan food.” The article even goes so far as to compare the “youngest in an almost Biblical line of society jewels” to Brooke Astor, Mona von Bismarck and Lauren Hutton.  read more »

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 »