This month Glamour is filled with half-truths. Along with a thin America Ferrera, Jessica Coen, former Gawker editor and current New York Magazine editor, presents herself as a contrite ex-blogger.
It’s not that we have any doubt that working from home writing nasty things about strangers online could affect one’s psyche. It’s more that Jessica Coen totally reinvents herself as a Glamour reader. The Jessica Coen she describes is weight obsessed, insecure and judgmental of penis size.
In the spirit of Jessica Coen’s call for kindness in the blogsphere, we would have pegged her as more of a Cosmo girl. Seriously, not even gynecologists offices subscribe to Glamour.
Whether Lockhart Steele and Jessica Coen’s romancing means blogger-on-blogger dating has officially jumped the shark.
As Jossip said goodbye to one of its own last week, fellow media fellatiater Gawker saw Jessica Coen take off for Vanity Fair’s glorified subscription form. So how’d she make her grand exit? By playing the camera phone, natch. (And Lockhart Steele: Where are those leaked photos?)
Times certainly are a’ changin’. After three years as the mama of Nick Denton’s favorite child, Gawker, Jessica Coen is moving on to Conde Nast, where she will act as the deputy online editor for Vanity Fair. We guess appearing in Conde Nast magazines is the best way to land a gig writing for them! Ah, New York.
Coen, who was lucky enough not to be outed by any tipsters in the Vanity Fair office, wrote a letter to her readers on the recently reformatted blog.
After I’m done here, I’ll be heading over to Vanity Fair, where I’ll be their deputy online editor. While it’s actually quite hard to say goodbye to this job (crap, am I being sincere already?), I can’t pass up the opportunity to do all sorts of inappropriate things to the Conde Nast salad bar when no one’s looking.
We’re pretty sure none of those inappropriate acts will involve eating, but we’re sure her sharp tongue and quick email response time will mesh perfectly with the staffers at VF. Plus, Graydon Carter needs somebody to keep his wardrobe choices in check.
Letter From the Editor: It’s Been a Long Time Since I Wrote in the First Person [Gawker]
• Maybe if
• The best way to prevent yourself from getting famous? Steal Brandon Davis‘ jokes from four months ago. [TMZ]
• Jessica Beil has resorted to making out with chicks in order to get some attention in the gossip columns. [Gatecrasher]
• Only in Choire Sicha’s world does Jessica Coen + Noelle Hancock = Melissa Burkelhammer. (We could, however, see Jessica Joffe coming from that equation.) [NYO]
• It’s not really the legs or the hair or the skin that makes Heidi Klum so friggin’ lucky. It’s that every time she says something really stupid, she can blame her German accent. [WWD]
• Today is Boy George’s day. [AP]
So what’re you waking up to this morning in the latest round of Gawker Whacker saga? Well there’s David Carr’s piece in the New York Times, which was posted late last night. Not much to be said about the rolling heads ’round Gawkerville – “putting two of his sites on the block, reorganizing others and laying off several people” was how he put it – with focus instead placed on Denton’s new game plan, which is, to be fair, his old game plan: make money by staying current. How very Madonna. The best part of Carr’s item: all-Denton, all the time, and nary an outside source — or even pretending he spoke to one. And blogs are skewed.
Elsewhere, Gawker managing editor Lockhart Steele sent out a missive to staffers, which reads in part:
More than anything, I think the moves are driven by our belief that Gawker needs to remain in a state of constant revolution. Resting on our laurels, and getting lazy, becomes easier as the company matures. Yet, so many of our titles are still in their infancy in terms of what their potential audience size, impact, and editorial could be. Look at our biggest traffic sites — Gizmodo, Gawker, Fleshbot, Defamer, Kotaku, Deadspin, Lifehacker, just for starters. Each amazing in its own way. And each capable of being two, five, ten times bigger than it is now — not just in traffic, but in influence, buzz, and significance. I’m also excited by the buzz around some of our newer titles, like Consumerist, and some ideas we have for new sites. […]
Regarding Screenhead and Sploid: both sites have been among our favorites, and the bloggers behind them true pros. But if we’re to keep our focus, we need discipline to invest more in our hits, cultivate our smaller sites with rising buzz, and develop new titles, like our forthcoming music title. And, yes, part ways with a site when it’s not working out for us.
To be clear, by “focus” Lock means “minting cash like a bankrupt Argentina.”Meanwhile, Denton will be posting his own Dear John Letter on his blog, which will read in part:
[I]t’s easy enough to start a site; increasingly tough to attract attention. Readers tend to give new Gawker sites an initial look at the very least, and we do cross-promote. But each site ultimately stands alone, and succeeds on the uniqueness of its proposition and the quality of the items. There are no sure things.
And back on the Lower East Side, Jessica Coen starts up her first week in quite sometime without Movable Type neighbor Oxfeld. As for the notion that the site is going more mainstream, we understand “broader” is the buzz word. So when a New York Daily News features editor gets whacked, you’re going to have to look somewhere else to read about it.
Lastly, let’s not forget about our favorite feature, the Gawker Whacker poll.
A Blog Mogul Turns Bearish on Blogs [David Carr, NYT]
Shakeup At Gawker Media: Jesse Oxfeld Out; Shuffle Across Blogs; Two Properties Up For Sale [Rachel Sklar, ETP]
With all the news we’re breaking about Jesse Oxfeld’s ousting from Gawker, we thought it would only be fair to ask for your reaction. Like guests on Meet The Press, the options are few and obvious.
If you haven’t a clue what any of this is about, perhaps you should read Part I and Part II of our Gawker Whacker coverage. Briefly: Gawker boss Nick Denton got rid of editor Oxfeld, but is keeping Jessica Coen on staff. Meanwhile, he’s bringing on two new guys to recast the flagship title as a mainstream entertainment destination.
Earlier: Gawker Whacker: Nick Denton Fires Jesse Oxfeld, Shutters 2 Titles
Earlier: Gawker Whacker, Part II: Denton Wants Mainstream Appeal
Exclusive
Because when you begin chatting about the chattering classes, the flood gates of gossip open — which means we’ve already received our fair share of updates regarding Jesse Oxfeld’s ousting at Gawker and Nick Denton’s additional slashings. As you recall from our exclusive report earlier today, Gawker honcho Denton dismissed Oxfeld without warning on Friday. Denton, we’re told is also going to close two of his titles: Screenhead (made extinct by YouTube) and Sploid (while sporting some impressive CSS, was made extinct by news junkies’ continued preference for The Drudge Report and, well, YouTube).
So why is all this happening? Because Denton – who has long touted Gawker’s media insider vantage point – wants to take his flagship title more mainstream (read: mainstream = more pageviews = more ad dollars). And that means there’s no place for Oxfeld’s endless Radar magazine updates and masthead shake up chronicling. Instead, Gawker needs new blood: enter TMFTML/Alex Balk and Gridskipper’s Chris Mohney. But while Balk is taking over what’s technically Oxfeld’s empty Aeron, the real news is Mohney’s role: top dog.
After two-plus years helming Gawker, co-editor Jessica Coen is getting a new superior to answer to. In additon to managing editor Lockhart Steele breathing down her neck, newcomer Mohney will techically be Jessica’s overseer. And you can imagine how pleased she is with that back stab. (Surely Jessica squelches her tears with hosting duties for the Star channel’s Looking For Stars.)
As for readers, they can likely expect an Us Weekly-ization of Gawker, sans bright yellow serif fonts. (Whether Denton will remake Mark Lisanti’s Defamer as a bland Hollywood gossip sheet instead of insider studio rag is yet to be determined.)
Now, when it comes to closing Screenhead and Sploid, Denton is looking for a buyer before he’s ready to shut them down. But there’s a short timeline: one month. If a cheque isn’t endorsed by the end of the July, both sites will go under. And so, too, will their staff: “Dong Resin” at Screenhead and Sploid’s Ken Layne and Scott Ross will be out of work. And that’s not all of Denton’s pink slipping: Gizmodo’s John Biggs – who joined Denton’s stable in April 2005 after founding editor Peter Rojas defected for a future windfall at rival Engadget – is being shown the door as well. (Blogebrity says someone from Wired will be filling in.)
It’s also worth noting Oxfeld is the first of Gawker’s four editors to leave involuntarily. So what’d Jesse have to say about all the new revelations? “Your account is inaccurate, reckless, and defamatory. I was at most moderately hammered when I arrived at the Magician Friday night.” And he has been all weekend.
And remember, there’s something to look forward to tomorrow: the New York Times will have its own item about all this.
Update: Nikki Finke weighs in on her favorite email sparring partner. From her item we learn David Carr is penning the piece (where, oh where, is Kit Seelye’s byline where it should be?), though if that’s true, perhaps Carr should actually touch base with Oxfeld.
Earlier: Gawker Whacker: Nick Denton Fires Jesse Oxfeld, Shutters 2 Titles
Bonus: Now you can vote!
Exclusive
In the hum-drum purr of industry hirings and firings, the rise and fall of beauty editors, research associates, and even senior editors can never compare to tingling we get when it’s a media reporter finding a new home. Or, as it so happens in this story, when it’s a media reporter in the guillotine.
Sometime Friday, Gawker co-editor Jesse Oxfeld was informed he was no longer welcome at Nick Denton’s Movable Type login screen. That’s right: Oxfeld’s out. Finished. Kaput. His axing came as a complete surprise to the Brill’s Content-Editor & Publisher-Mediabistro vet, who, we hear, showed up “completely hammered” at The Magician on Friday night, where the typical blogger suspects (Liz Spiers, Lindsay Robertson) were gathered, to drown his sorrows. Like Bonnie Fuller, Oxfeld’s contract was up at the end of June — except his wasn’t resigned with a fat bonus.
Jessica Coen, meanwhile, stays on and will be joined on Monday by the editor of Denton’s travel title Gridskipper, Chris Mohney – who infamously got his job by fellating Denton with Gawker-obsessed blog Gawkerist – and former anon-a-blogger Alex Balk (aka TMFTML).
Meanwhile, Denton is also said to be closing two titles from his blog stable: College Humor wannabe Screenhead and Drudge Report imitator Sploid — though we’re not sure if Screenhead editor “Dong Resin” or Sploid’s Ken Layne are gone too, or they’ll be absorbed into Gawker’s many folds. These would be the second and third blogs Denton closed, following gambling site Oddjack’s sale months ago.
And for those who don’t believe anything till you read it in the Times, look for an item on Monday. The only mystery yet unsolved: How Andrew Krucoff’s name didn’t come up in any of this.
Update: The story continues here.
Bonus: Now you can vote!
Is working for Page Six losing its appeal? In today’s Off the Record column in the Observer (which we knew was coming but had to do a little searching for it) we learn that a sleu of bloggers, freelancers, and even Observer staffers themselves have turned down an offer to work at the Page.
According to sources familiar with all or part of the search, people the Post has approached include Jacob Bernstein and Elisa Lipsky-Karasz of WWD, W’s Marshall Heyman, Gawker co-editor Jessica Coen, Us Weekly blogger Noelle Hancock, Christopher Tennant of Radar and 24-year-old freelance writer Derek Blasberg, who was among the young men profiled in an April 23 New York Times Sunday Styles story about New York’s new tribe of “Boldface Men.†Mr. Johnson has also contacted at least three New York Observer staffers.
The article suggests this collaborative “no” may be the result of the Ron Burkle/ Jared Paul Stern “shake-down” or because of the fact that this new full-time staffer will have to take on the partying of both Fernando Gil and Jared Paul Stern combined (a nearly impossible feat).
Whatever, we don’t really care why people don’t want to work there, we’re just wondering if this means the Chris Wilson/Jessica Coen spat has come to an end? Oh, and what exactly is Derek Blasberg writing?
Times’ Siegal Imprinted Invisibly on Newspaper [Tom Scocca and Gabriel Sherman, New York Observer (2nd Item)
If any of you have been paying attention, you know by now that Jossip has unofficially adopted ex Page Six freelancer Fernando Gil. Mostly because he is a displaced foreigner, doesn’t know “who the fuck Jessica Joffe is” and spends time explaining blogs to his friends.
So when he agreed to sit down with us for a Q+A, we just had to get the goods on what it’s like being a gossip who hesitates to call himself a gossip.
He does not hesistate, however, to bash President Bush or the New York Times. An artist and non-scenester party hopper at heart, Gil went from NYU to Page Six and barely noticed the difference. After the jump, he reveals his affection for Midget Kiss Bands, Chris Wilson, and hypothetical gossip relating to Bush Twins and coke.
(**Please note that the opinions in this interview solely reflect those of Fernando Gil are are by no means supported or unsupported by his foster parents.)
CONTINUED »
Sure, last night might’ve been the official start to Passover, but in media land, we’re not the only ones who miss deadlines. Which is why only today are we getting around to polling various personalities from inside the bubble as to their holiday plans, whether they’re more likely to suffer from mother’s guilt (and celebrate Passover) or daddy’s drinking (and celebrate Easter) — or, like us, both. Let’s see who else will be dipping their herbs (in gin) twice.
Jeff Bercovici, Women’s Wear Daily
I attended a seder in the west village last night. We had Maxwell House-sponsored haggadahs that seemed to have been translated from Hebrew into Yiddish, then into Russian, German, and finally English, by someone who spoke none of those languages. This morning I had pancakes and pork sausage for breakfast. Take that, Yahweh!
Joe Scarborough, MSNBC
Going to be hosting an Easter egg hunt for my little girl’s friends at our home in Pensacola, FL. If it’s anything like last year, all the adults will be enjoying adult conversation and beer while I am dressed up like a 6′4″ Peter Cottontail, sweating my rabbits’ feet off.
Sunday to church and lunch with the family.
Tray Butler, HX
Normally Easter is the weekend of my annual pajama party, which has become a notorious tradition among friends over the years. I’m actually putting the ‘jamas and jelly-bean shots on hold this year for the sake of a more wholesome holiday, heading South to hide Easter eggs for my four-year-old brother. (Yes, there’s a bit of an age gap. Long story.) I’ll also hopefully catch up with a few friends in the ATL, and those kids are crrrazy. I’ll be packing some PJs, just in case.
Jack Shafer, Slate
I worship no deity, including the newly improved Jesus Christ. That means I’m available to break bread wirth anybody who asks me to attend their celebration. I have no invitations in hand, so I’ll probably grill something and drink beer on Sunday.
Choire Sicha, New York Observer
Well, I don’t know the month of Nisan from a Nissan. I prefer to use any of these less-high Holy Days to sit idly at my desk, IMing with the goyim. After sundown, I’ll be playing poker, chain-smoking, and eating pepperoni pizza. Please send someone around on Sunday to roll away the emotional stone that keeps me trapped in my house on weekends.
Jesse Oxfeld, Gawker
I will, as always, be heading to the American Jew’s promised land: The New Jersey suburbs. I believe today’s Pesach Express leaves Penn Station at 5:20. I should be back in the city by 11 (as I was last night, too), ready to commence Gawking again in the morning. In observance of the holiday, though, I do write while reclining.
After the jump: Post-It Keith Kelly, Times ad man Stuart Elliott, Gawker gal Jessica Coen, Huffington Post’s Rachel Skarl, and the NYO’s Gabe Sherman.
CONTINUED »
• Ali Lohan signed up for Joe Simpson’s A Lister class. She does need a new dad….[OANmedia]
• And we’ve been saving all month to send our new editor to learn blogging from Jessica Coen at the 92nd St. Y. [Gawker]
• 105 Time Inc. employees will have to cancel their Per Se reservations. [Ad Age]
• Yeah, we didn’t really understand that whole “Colin Farrell man boobs” thing either. [Salon]
• Mischa Barton is terrified of Rachael Bilson’s boobs. The Queerty guys are shuddering in agreement. [The Scoop]
• The new Hearst lifestyle mag, Weekend, staffs up for the launch. If you can sift through all the Time Inc. axings, that is. [Mediabistro]
This is fun: PR Week profiles Gawker while Gawker roils the PR industry. It’s a veritble game of dog-eats-dog-eats-shit — and we’re supplying the dice.
Here’s what you already know: Gawker makes fun of media, Jessica Coen writes Gawker from her apartment, everybody loves to hate Gawker.
But here’s what you don’t know about Gawker that PR Week reveals: Nothing.
That is, PR Week is shamelessly publicizing a media site that targets the very industry that PR Week covers. And next week, not only will you be able to buy the game at Toys’R'Us, but you’ll be able to purchase our limited edition “That’s so meta” T-shirt as well.
• Ya gotta give credit to those wacky “Gate” keepers, Christo & Jeanne-Claude. They’re recycling the orange pipe frames holding up the shower curtains (err, we mean art) as white fence posts.
• Nightlife-cum-restaurateur Amy Sacco agreed to be civil with Gawker’s Jessica Coen at their BlackBook fashion shoot, but that doesn’t mean she prefers the gossip blog to the “99 percent of the time” accurate Page Six.
• The bad news: NYU is losing fashion challenged Mary-Kate Olsen as a coed. The good news: Amanda Bynes has signed on to keep the tween quota afloat. And Mark Graham needs a moment to himself.
• With two TV shows, Tyra Banks doesn’t have time (or youth) for the runway. Her Nov. 9 Victoria’s Secret show is expected to be her last, while Heidi Klum will make her catwalk return since ducking out to give birth.
• Elle Macpherson has her lawyers scrambling to get her out of her Blackglama contract, now that PETA has shown her how she really gets her mink coats.
• Kate Moss Watch™: If the supermodel goes to jail, she may have a familiar pen pal in ex-boyfriend Pete Doherty. Police detained the druggie rocker during a raid at his U.K. concert.
• Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston rang in their official divorce (as of yesterday) by unloading their Beverly Hills pad, collecting a whopping $28 million for their $13.5 million payment back in 2001.
• O.J. Simpson might be free, but the man’s broke. The acquitted ex-football star rang in the 10th anniversary of his trial’s ending by charging $95 per John Hancock at a – gasp! – horror convention.
If there’s one magazine you should pick up this week, it isn’t Men’s Vogue. Not that Jay Fielden’s creation isn’t worthy of your newsstand patronage, but, well, you should’ve bought it last week. This week is all about New York, which hits magazine racks touting its “Salary Guide” cover story.
Hundreds of salaries – supposedly accurate! – of New York’s industry players are revealed, from the movie and film biz to media and (gasp) bloggers and (double gasp) porn moguls.
Rather than scroll through the whole list, we’ve put together the most satisfying comparisons for your cable news media-sized attention span.
• Brian Williams, Anchor, NBC Nightly News ($4 million) vs. Anderson Cooper, Host, Anderson Cooper 360 ($2 million) vs. Pat Kiernan, Anchor, NY1 ($200,000)
• Roger Ailes, Chairman, Fox News Channel ($7.1 million) vs. Andrew Heyward, President, CBS News ($1.5 million)
• Jake Gyllenhaal, Actor, Jarhead ($3 million) vs. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Actress, upcoming untitled Oliver Stone 9/11 film ($500,000)
• 50 Cent, Rapper, hyphenate ($50 million) vs. George M., Street musician, Astor Place subway station ($16,800)
• Martha Stewart, TV Star ($9.6 million) vs. Susan Lyne, CEO and president, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia ($4,714,469)
• Richard Johnson, “Page Six†gossip columnist ($300,000) vs. Jim Romenesko, Blogger, the Poynter Institute ($169,187) vs. Jessica Coen, Blogger, Gawker.com ($30,000)
• Bonnie Fuller, Editorial director, American Media ($1,574,851) vs. Janice Min, Editor, Us Weekly ($1.2 million)
• Russell Simmons, Founder, Phat Farm (from the sale of Phat Farm alone) ($119 million) vs. Kimora Lee Simmons, Creative director, Baby Phat ($17 million)
And just when you thought listicles were going out of industry fashion.
If only we had a website dedicated to hating on Jossip would our self-esteem shoot up to Janice Dickinson levels. But we’ll leave the institutional hatemongering to PlasticMoonRain.com’s un-spell-checked Gawker coverage.
Yesterday they went after co-editor Jesse Oxfeld (perhaps because our lovely Jessica Coen is just too aesthetically pleasing?), and it’s quite clear they’re not fans of the big Jewy.
It’s here: Our much-anticipated, first-ever Gawker Non-Hotties competition. Except wait… there is only one contestent! And here he is, feast your eyes on the Non-Hottie to end all Non-Hotties — Jesse Oxfeld.
No suprise that the man who decided to judge NY Times and Conde Nast employees for their brains and looks is well, let just say it’s hard to believe if this guy stands a chance in either category.
Unfortunately they don’t have a convenient poll set up so we can vote. Also unfortunate: That we’re bothering with this meta-meta coverage. Back to the more confounding realm of In Touch.
Whew, it’s 10:30am and things are back to normal. We were so worried our blogging neighbors were held hostage by Elizabeth Spiers.
It’s 10am and Gawker sits still. Hmmm, a one Jessica Coen tells us she rises from her brandy-induced slumber at 6:30am, and yet somehow we believed her.
Help us, Jesse Oxfeld, prove us wrong. And seriously, how will we know what to post if you leave our torso unhugged?
(Note: Not that we claim to publish this site with any regularity, so shove off, lads.)
Editorial Director
