gawker

Report: 'Gawker Guide' doesn't conquer bestseller lists

Gawker.com, along with its parent company Gawker Media and well-known overlord Nick Denton, might be a big deal around Gotham--so big, in fact that it merits New York magazine cover stories. But that doesn't mean the gossip blog is guaranteed a smooth entry into the world of print publishing that it so frequently skewers.

Portfolio blogger Jeff Berkovici dug up some Nielsen BookScan statistics that seem to indicate that The Gawker Guide to Conquering All Media, a glossy hardcover that was published last month, has sold only a few hundred copies. 242 copies, to be exact, though Berkovici … Read more

As New York's tech scene expands, Valleywag hires an Alleywag

The Gawker Media-owned Valleywag might tout itself as "Silicon Valley's tech gossip rag," but the effervescence of Bubble 2.0 has expanded far beyond Sand Hill Road. So far, in fact, that the San Francisco Bay Area tattletale blog--following in the footsteps of TechCrunch, which hired Business 2.0 veteran Erick Schonfeld last month--has picked up a New York correspondent.

The "Alleywag" in question is tech writer Nicholas Carlson, whom Facebook tells me is a 2005 graduate of Davidson College. Valleywag editor Owen Thomas confirmed to me that Carlson is a "newly hired associate … Read more

Growing pains for TechCrunch's gadget blog?

On Tuesday morning, tech gossip blog Valleywag posted a rumor that TechCrunch's small blog network might not be doing quite as well as its parent brand: Valleywag editor Owen Thomas said that gadget blog CrunchGear had made significant pay cuts and that at least one blogger had been fired. In a message to Valleywag, CrunchGear editor John Biggs attempted to clear the air, saying that some writers are "on hiatus" while the gadget blog works out its new ad sales program and transitions from a per-post model to a monthly salary.

Some blogging insiders, CNET News.com … Read more

Rumor: Annalee Newitz to helm new Gawker sci-fi blog?

Trekkies rejoice (or beware): The rumors are getting stronger that New York-based blog network Gawker Media will be launching a science fiction themed title in the near future, and we're hearing that Wired blogger and freelance writer Annalee Newitz has been chosen for the top post at the new blog. The original rumor, as reported last week by the Huffington Post hinted that Gawker Media had nabbed a writer for its new, yet-to-be-named blog from Wired; a source confirmed to CNET News.com that the title will indeed be launching soon and that an editor has been hired.

A … Read more

Rumor: Gawker Media to launch science fiction blog

The New York-based blog network Gawker Media--parent company of blogs like Wonkette, Valleywag, and Defamer--is better known for salacious gossip and snarky social commentary than geek fandom (even its gadget blog Gizmodo and gaming hub Kotaku aren't the nerdiest titles in their genres). But the company, according to rumors overheard by the Huffington Post on Tuesday, may be very close to launching a science fiction blog.

The Huffington Post suggested that Gawker Media may have nabbed (or be in the process of nabbing) a Wired writer to helm the new blog, but it's unclear whether this means … Read more

Gaming foe Jack Thompson sues Gawker Media

Anti-video game advocate Jack Thompson has sued Gawker Media, the parent company of gaming blog Kotaku, according to GamePolitics. The reason for the suit, which was filed in a federal court in the Southern District of Florida, was a number of reader comments on recent Kotaku posts that Thompson deemed "threatening" and which he claimed Kotaku and Gawker Media declined to remove from the site.

Thompson, a Miami-based attorney, has been a high-profile crusader against video games and their alleged negative influence on children for some time now, but gained new notoriety in the wake of the Virginia … Read more