Gawker to Become Politics Site [Updated]

Well this is kind of unexpected. According to The New York Times, Gawker is revamping its focus from general news/lifestyle coverage to politics. We say "kind of unexpected" because back in July, there was speculation that Gawker was going to relaunch as something new. Talk of a change began after Gawker grossly outed a married man, then wrongly stood by the post that was eventually taken down. The drama ended with two top Gawker editors resigning instead of admitting that they were wrong. As a result of the revamped Gawker, 10 staffers are expected to lose their jobs. Update (3:19 pm): Here are some highlights from executive editor John Cook's extremely long memo, via The Awl: Alex will redirect the Gawker team to hump the campaign. Allie Jones and Sam Biddle will head out on the trail, Ashley Feinberg will obsessively monitor the dark and hilarious lunatic fringes on the right and left—will Hamilton Nolan will interview Bernie Sanders? Maybe! Gawker won’t just do horse-race coverage, of course—it will take a Daily Show approach to covering the ever-intensifying culture wars, documenting, satirizing, and reporting on the ways that political disputes are refracted in every aspect of our popular culture. Internally, Tom Scocca, while continuing his role as executive features editor, will return to Gawker in a formal way with a twice-weekly column. Pareene will also launch a weekly column himself. And we will be hiring: Today we are posting job announcements seeking a fast, hungry political reporter with a distinctive point of view and a strong voice, a senior editor to help push the staff to be smarter writers and thinkers, and a deputy editor to help Alex manage his team and run the page. At Jezebel, managing editor Erin Gloria Ryan is hanging up her hat after a total of more than four years helping run the site; we are losing her to Vocativ. Jia Tolentino, whose sharp eye as a writer and editor have enlivened the site, will step up to become Emma’s deputy editor, and Kate Dries will become managing editor; Natasha Vargas-Cooper will be leaving the site as well. Today we are folding Gawker’s The Vane, Jezebel’s Millihelen and Kitchenette, Lifehacker’s Workshop and AfterHours, Jalopnik’s Flight Club, and Gizmodo’s Indefinitely Wild and Throb. Pursuant to Gawker’s new focus, Defamer, Morning After, and Valleywag will be permanently shuttered, clearing the path for Jezebel to become the primary voice for celebrity and pop culture coverage in the network.

Fishbowl

Gawker to Become Politics Site [Updated]

The dawn of a new era.

Chris O'Shea

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