Balthazar snob and blog publisher Nick Denton is unloading a trio of his websites. Music blog Idolator, which never gained much traction, is being unloaded to Buzznet, the music-focused social network that insisted it wasn't raising capital to buy blogs. City guide Gridskipper goes to old pal Lockhart Steele's Curbed network of hyper-local sites. And political muckraker Wonkette is going its lonely way, with managing editor Ken Layne taking the reigns solo. Not that it'll impact the business much: As Denton himself writes, those blogs represent just 3 percent of his pageview dump. Full memo from HQ below.

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Whether Lockhart Steele and Jessica Coen's romancing means blogger-on-blogger dating has officially jumped the shark.

Well, we guess it was inevitable. How Jim Romenesko and Mediabistro had the news before we did may be a sign that we are among the reasons Sploid wasn't sold off. We, like most people, didn't really read the site, though we did sort of take comfort in knowing it was there. And when Nick Denton and Lockhart Steele announced last month that Sploid was on the buy or bust block, we sort of had a feeling the era would quickly be ending.

Just like YouTube, Lebanon, Joe Lieberman, newspaper circulation and airline travel, Sploid is being demolished.

It is a great victory for bullshit peddlers everywhere … if they had any idea Sploid existed.

And though we weren't the greatest fans, the death of a blog is always a bit more heart wrenching than the death of a mag. Even when it's Denton's. Do yourself a favor and read the re-cap of Sploid, the blog without a blog, just so you don't look like a moron when you're at a party and the family is all gathered around spewing weird words like Sicha and Chicago.

It's a very educational essay. For instance, we just learned that their demise stemmed from week one, when they were compared to the the Drudge Report.

Goodbye Forever [Sploid via Mediabistro]

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!

• The inevitable finally occurs. DCFS pays a visit to Britney Spears and company. [Socialite's Life]

• Mariah Carey's home is fantabulous. It even comes complete with a Hello Kitty bathroom. We don't know what's more exciting — that or the first issue of In Style Home. [NYO]

• In a final act of destruction, Jared Paul Stern totally ruins Richard Johnson's honeymoon. [Gawker]

• Lockhart Steele goes forth to build his empire. But, he had to leave New York? Ew. [SFG]

• Brad Pitt hits the little screen. Well, they keep putting Jen in movies, so at this point, we're like whatev. [Unbeige]

• Welcome to today's Daily Transom, in which we learn more about inter-office IMs at the Observer than we ever cared to know. [NYO]