When the "official official" announcement came that Jeff Bercovici and Sara James were leaving their posts at Women's Wear Daily's Memo Pad for the greener pastures of Radar and Men's Vogue respectively (really, there will be more green, we're sure of it) we asked you to vote (ok, you made us beg a little) for who their perfect replacements would be.
The process was entertaining — if not overwhelming. Amazingly enough, some people actually voted for Lloyd Grove (though we're assuming it was Lloyd), and while it seemed at first like the Observer's media mogul Gabe Sherman was going to come out the winner, Huffington Post darling Rachel Sklar won by an ish, with Gabe coming in second at the end. But hey, there are, after all, two spots to fill!
Official, official final outcomes, after the jump.
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We knew we were going to miss her terribly when she left her job at the Memo Pad … but we didn't know we would have to miss her media gossiping before she even left! Sara James is already preparing for her new title as fashion news editor for Men's Vogue by covering fashion news for her column.
Yeah, yeah, we know its Women's Wear, and that ARTnews is a magazine, and that she mentions Si Newhouse in her column. But a whole graf devoted to the Gucci guy?
The art world is clearly benefitting from sales of Gucci handbags. François Pinault — the man behind luxury goods purveyor PPR, which owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and the Christie's auction house, among other holdings — made the top 10 in ArtNews magazine's list of the top 200 art collectors in the world for the first time this year — perhaps because he opened his very own museum, the Palazzo Grassi, in Venice in April.
What's up with that? So much fashion coverage, and yet nary a mention of Daniel Filipachi's (the son of Hachette director Henri Filipacchi) place on the list.
The ARTnews 200 Top Collectors [ARTnews]
Ok, people. We spent a solid amount of time and effort putting this poll together, and now we want you to vote in it damn it! According to Janice Min, you care more about gossip than voting in any sort of political election, so we expect your full participation in this. Who do you think should fill the fashionable, gossipy shoes of Jeff Bercovici and Sara James when the move on from WWD? Snap to it, folks … we want to let Gabe Sherman know the results before he starts his vacay.
Now that the departures of beloved Memo Pad staffers Jeff Bercovici and Sara James are all official, it's time to move on to the next topic. Who could possibly fill those dapper shoes? We had a pretty tough time pulling these names out of our rears, but we've come up with a few guesses.
However, we need your input. (Ok, we don't need it, but we really, really want it.) Any of these qualified applicants would leave a gaping whole in their current spots should they depart, which would only mean more meta media door revolving, and in turn, sheer delight on our part. (If your currently vying for Sherman or Sklar's job, we suggest nominating them!) We'll announce the official results tomorrow morning.
If a rumor ends up in Page Six does that make it more or less official? We just hope we're not crossing this headline out in 20 minutes.
The gossip page follows up on reports concerning the future of Sara James and Jeff Bercovici at Women's Wear Daily's Memo Pad. Though we doubt it will sound like much of a stampede, James, the page reports, will head off to join the growing staff at Men's Vogue as their fashion news editor.
And Bercovici "just announced" his official jump to Radar. (We are still working on finding this announcement, whcih was supposedly made by Ed Nardoza to Keith Kelly.)
… Jeff Bercovici, just announced he's joining Maer Roshan in the third incarnation of Radar magazine. WWD editor-in-chief Ed Nardoza tells The Post's Keith Kelly that after he replaces James and Bercovici, he'll add a third media reporter to cover advertising.
Maybe that bit will be in Media Ink tomorrow? Well, needless to say, we are a bit saddened by this news. Though we can't really mask our joy over the string of gossip and job jumping that is sure to occur in the wake of their departure.
MEDIA STAMPEDE [Page Six]
Earlier: It's Official, In That Unofficial Way: Jeff Bercovici Heads to Radar, and Sara James Too
After last week's not-so-fervent denials about leaving Women's Wear Daily for the greener (but only for a couple issues at a time) pastures of Radar, Jeff Bercovici is indeed making the jump, we hear from very well placed sources this morning. What's also news? Jeff's cohort Sara James is also ditching Fairchild's trade for Maer's third spin on the magazine merry-go-round. But let's not let Radar's staffing up distract us from our newfound interest: Who's gonna fill in at WWD? Some Mediabistro intern?
Update: Sara informs us that she is "NOT under any circumstances" leaving to fluff Maer's balls. Which is either code for "They haven't made me a formal offer yet" or "I'm the queen of WWD now, bitch, and I will cut you!"
Earlier: Radar Rumor Patrol: New Staffers Sworn to Secrecy?
Related: Jossiping with Jeff Bercovici
When we checked in with some media types this afternoon about their Passover and Easter plans, we didn't think so many of them would actually, you know, respond. But respond they did (some, so graciously, from their BlackBerrys while on the go), which means we've got plenty of fodder for another installment. So let's see who's rubbing some shankbone and who's coloring Easter eggs with Ron Burkle.
Dan Abrams, MSNBC
The truth is that Im down at Duke covering the rape allegations . .so no holiday time for me!
Elizabeth Spiers, Dealbreaker
Well, I’m a Southern WASP, so under normal circumstances I’d ostensibly trek home to Alabama to be the token atheist at the Easter services and for grilling both literal (red meat, by my dad) and metaphorical (of me, by relatives). But I’m staying in New York and having Easter lunch with a friend from college and his family.
Sara James, WWD
I am not of the tribe, so on Easter Sunday, I usually end up around a table with a handful of southern friends, eating grits, biscuits and some form of pork.
Nikki Finke, LA Weekly
In late March I spent a sybaritic week in the French West Indies so I'm not sure I deserve another vacation yet. Besides, the weather here in L.A. is glorious right now. Sorry, my private life is just that, private.
Adam Moss, New York
Sadly, i'm not going away. It was just one raucous seder, a lot of indigestion, over and out.
Michael Musto, Village Voice
I’m spending tonight playing sleazeball producer Tony Moss in a staged reading of the trash classic Showgirls, tomorrow watching the c-word-filled version of The Threepenny Opera, and Sunday presenting an honor at an awards festival for drag queen ‘hos. So as you can see, I’m deeply religious.
Earlier: The Manischewitz, The Matzo & The Jesus: Just Another Media East-over
What is a spy at Jane magazine supposed to do if she wants to alert the media snobs of a Brandon Holley folly? Normally, she could simply email Jeff Bercovici at WWD, and the item could get planted overnight. But if you've been emailing Jeff, here's what you'd see:
I'm off today, returning Monday, April 3. For anything time-sensitive, please contact Sara James, WWD's other media editor. She can be reached at 212-630-XXXX or XXX@fairchildpub.com.
So you email Sara, natch. But doing so will get you this pleasant auto-responder:
I am out of the office on Monday, April 3, returning Tuesday, April 4. For anything pressing, please contact my fellow media editor Jeff Bercovici at XXX@fairchildpub.com, or 212-630-XXXX.
Now what's a loose lipped staffer to do when there's nobody minding the store? Can you trust stringer Nina Jones with your sensitive gossip that's too gauche for Keith Kelly? Perhaps, but you might as well email us about it at this point.
As our first subject in Jossip's new interview series, we hunted down Women's Wear Daily's Memo Pad reporter Jeff Bercovici and made him our guinea pig. Not only because he totally owed us one for not recognizing us at Jim Kelly's last party, but because we assured him there would be no "hard hitting questions." We're not journalists people.
Among other things, we learned that Jeff makes his own cappuccino with a ghetto $10 stove pot espresso maker, he rides the bus to work, and that people working in media are supposed to read the New Yorker. (Y'know, someone could've told us that sooner.)
Jeff and his partner in magazine gossip crime, Sara James, continue to break insider industry stories daily, and give us all the Atoosa, Bonnie, and Jann a media blogger could ever dream of. Thanks for being such a good sport, JB — we can tell your mama raised you right.
The full interview, including what it means to be a Conde Naster, after the jump.
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