Gawker's new managing editor, Gawker Media boss Nick Denton, at least for now

-ZOE It's not the first time Gawker Media owner Nick Denton has had to step up and take on an active roll on one of his blogs. He was most recently editor of his silicon valley gossip title Valleywag.com. Now Mr. Denton will take on the roll of managing editor of his flagship blog Gawker.com just until they find that someone to come in and run the website. Gawker over the years have been slowly moving from media gossip blog to traditional news site which apparently was not by mistake. Maggie Shnayerson, the associate editor of Gawker.com, said the transition from gossip blog to news-oriented site was a natural one. “If you own a business in an industry that changes every minute, you always have to look at what you’re doing,” she said. How long until they change their tag line from: "Gawker, daily Manhattan media news and gossip. Reporting live from the center of the universe" to something like "Gawker, daily news. Reporting live from the center of the universe" A Familiar Editor for Gawker [NYT]

And now this morning's worth mentioning media business news

-YOSH It looks like The New York Post's Page Six has finally taken on it's natural form [Pagesix.com] Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is probably the most feared man in the music industry. Record label bosses better watch there artist [Fortune] Rupert Murdoch is planning to make WSJ.com a free website. But what exactly are his plans for that other barely mentioned Dow Jones news property, Marketwatch.com? [Fortune] What's the real word on Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook.com. Did that kid really get rich on a stolen Idea? [NYT] For Blog lord Nick Denton, losing three of his editors at his flagship blog gawker.com, is just the same old same old. [NYT] Lucky for Paramount's Brad Grey, David Geffen beefing with old man Sumner may have saved his ass from being replaced with perhaps Stacey Snider at the top of Paramount [NYP]

Gawker, now lite on media and heavy on socialites, and lifestyle

-Shomari Hines Nick Denton is rapidly changing the content of his flagship title Gawker.com. A couple weeks ago the site started posting on weekends covering the weekend papers and lifestyle. Now the site will publish after hours during the week for those Gawkerites who can't get enough covering the same thing. Over the years the site has slowly cut back on its media industry focus and went heavy on the New York City lifestyle, covering socialites and the parties/events they frequent. The site's core media coverage is now rolled up into their Media Bubble posting which is usually in the mornings. However there is the occasional posting on happenings within the offices of media companies like MTV and others via tips from die hard Gawker loyalists. The site is a mix of Time Out New York and New York Magazine. Perhaps its time to change the tag line which reads "daily Manhattan media news and gossip. Reporting live from the center of the universe".

Huffpost to be a little more original

Ariana Huffington's mega blog Huffpost.com which was launched about 18 months ago as a platform for mouthy celebs to speak their minds will now carry original reporting on the site. Arianna Huffington, said yesterday that the site had hired Melinda Henneberger, a print journalist most recently with Newsweek magazine, as its political editor. The site has about 2.3 million unique visitors a month, making it one of the more popular blog sites. Ms. Huffington said Ms. Henneberger would hire a number of other journalists to begin producing original content, “with attitude.” “Now is the time to generate our own original content,” Ms. Huffington said. “It was always our intention, once we had the money, to hire people to do reporting.” So does this mean Nick Denton could end up loosing Wonkette editor Alex Pareene to the Huff being that he could actually make a living covering DC Gossip? Huffington Post Will Add Original Reporting to Its Blog [NYT]

We are so going to get shitted on for this, but Meet FishbowlNY's Editor

We did it to Nick Denton, were are probably going to do it to his number two Lockhart , and we are dam sure going to do it to whoever else we want to do it to because its all in fun. In a post on Fishbowlny yesterday editor Dylan Stableford included a photo of himself as part of his last minute Media Halloween Costume Idea and listed what you would need to dress up like him. WHAT YOU'LL NEED: -Ill-fitting American Apparel polos -chocolate lab -weakness for Vermont ales; laid back, "perma-stoned" persona -mid-80s baseball references -rage Anyway who wants to dress up as a blogger right? We were more focused on the photo of choice which makes him look more like this month's cover boy of High Times. Notice the hazy stare and lazy eyes. Only thing missing is the smoke leaking from his mouth. Peace Dylan.

Lloyd Grove's boring guest editing of Gawker finally over

Former New York Daily News gossip columnist Lloyd Grove guest edited Gawker today and god we couldn't wait for it to be over. That was cash money not well spent by Nick Denton. The "Ask Lloyd Grove" postings were painful and un-interesting because well Lloyd Grove just isn't that dam interesting. One commenter begged for them to bring Jared Paul Stern back. Goodbye Lloyd Grove and good luck but please no more guest editing at any fucking blogs, unless of course you start your own which will then make u editor! -Neil Ask Lloyd Grove [Gawker]

Weekend Wire: Because media news happens on the weekends too

We felt like we've been missing out on some real interesting items during the weekends and so beginning today, we will post this, our "Weekend Wire" to round up all the latest media news that the weekend may spit at us. And we thought we would never see another article about the whole Google Youtube thing again. The New York Times attempts to explain how this loopy deal makes sense [NYT] Meet the man who keeps greedy executives wanting more and getting more [NYT] North Korean's ambassador to the U.N Council: "That's Gangsta" [CNN] Movie studio bosses getting cut out by the people actually putting up the green for the movies [NYT] This didn't develop over the weekend but former New York Daily News gossip columnist, Lloyd Grove stupidly took a guess editing offer from Nick Denton to Gawk for a day [Daily Intel] Madonna reportedly chose her new kid in the same manner in which she chooses a new hand bag, but just a second or two longer [Sunday Times] Sure! Now is the best time for the big media companies to go after Youtube over copyright issues because their new daddies have loads of cash [Bloggingstocks/Google] Whatever happened to the whole thing with Time Warner CFO Wayne Pace and that high priced slut? Time Warner must have paid someone off to make this one go away [Here] Corporate thug Carl Icahn made some extra green from of all things Time Warner stock. You think the man would be happy, but he still says he expects the media giant to break itself up into four companies. [NYP]

Our delaaaaaaayed response: Nick Denton is media news worthy isn't he?

A few weeks ago we got an email from Fishbowlny.com's Dylan Stableford asking us why the post about Gawker ruler Nick Denton's vacation was pulled. Our editor at the time Lawrence Thode explained to him that our publisher Shomari Hines who is now our acting Editor loved the post but thought it didn't fit with Mediawire Daily's focus on media business news. Anyway Dylan decided to post about our post that was pulled, complete with the actual dialogue between Lawrence and himself and our mock T&L cover of Nick, aviator shades and all. Now surely this wasn't worthy of a post was it? Then again we welcome the eyes. Note: Mediawire Daily has since softened expanded its focus to post about any and all things media related and we have Dylan to thank for this. Post About Denton's Gawker Vacation Pulled By Blog Publisher [FBNY]

And in closing: Exactly who does Gawker have in mind to be the new Jessica Coen?

Gawker editrix Jessica Coen is about to be former Gawker editrix Jessica Coen. If our calculations are correct, this should be her last week writing for the site. But the question on at least our tongue is who will, if any take her place and how long will it be until Jessica skips out on Vanityfair.com to go set up her own blogging shop? Ok jumping the gun just a tad as usual. Anyway we haven't heard anything on possible replacements or maybe we haven't been paying attention. Lockhart and Nick may already know who will fill the spot but just in case they are having some trouble thinking of the perfect person we came up with 5 possible candidates for the Gawker editor gig: 1. Jesse Oxfeld (Hey he still gets credit) 2. Nick Denton 3. The chick who writes Young Black and Fabulous (Wait does gawker have any brown people on their team?) 4. Gaby Darbyshire (Her name just rings bells) 5. Jared Paul Stern (imagine the attention)

Gawker still has a thing for Jesse Oxfeld

It's been over a month now since Gawker Media boss Nick Denton told Jesse Oxfeld "Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya" but apparently Mr. Denton isn't quite ready to totally erase Jesse from Gawker. It looks like Denton likes to visit the credits page from time to time to remember what was. The site still gives Jess Oxfeld editor credits. Wonder how current co-editor Alex Balk feels about that? Clearly Managing Editor Chris Mahoney aint managing too well!!

Without Jesse Oxfeld, Gawker reveals face lift

For a fresh new staff......kinda, Nick Denton rolls out a fresh new look for his flagship, Gawker. The latest in Denton's stable to take on the Gawker wide screen layout, the site looks cleaner. But we kinda miss the old layout for this one though. Well lets see how this team plays together shall we? gawker

Courting Jesse Oxfeld: Are blog publishers craving the Ox?

Now that Jesse Oxfeld is a free agent, is he in demand or scorn? Are blog publishers waiting in line to court Oxfeld to come edit their blogs, or did Nick Denton black list him. Well whatever the case we just learned that our superiors wouldn't mind having Jess drop a post or two on Mediawire, but then again Jess can probably land a sweet gig in big media....we think. Anyway olike we said before "The Oxfeld Report" may not be too far off in the future, or even a book cleverly titled "The Devil lives on Spring Street" (we love you Nick).

Does Nick Denton know something we don't?

Now many are questioning whether or not AOL paid too much for Weblogs Inc due to Nick Denton's plan to downsize and build. Does what Nick Denton do shake up the business of blogging? Is he the Warren Buffet of weblogs where many listen and base their decisions on what he thinks? Well it seems as though what he says or does impacts what people think and ask. So did AOL really pay too much for Weblogs now that Mr. Denton claims that it is increasingly hard to make money blogging? Are our bosses going to make drastic moves based on Mr. Denton's statements and fat cutting plans? In Denton's own words

Again: Is Gawker big head Nick Denton prepping for a sale

Our friend in our head, Gawker Media honcho Nick Denton is doing a big media style reorg of his blog empire which has already claimed its first known victim Gawker co- editor Jess Oxfeld among others. Denton is also said to be putting his Sploid and Screenhead properties on the block. However if there are no buyers, the sites will be buried in the Gawker cemetery. These moves can mean many different things. Denton could be trimming the fat to make his empire look more attractive to potential buyers. Or he should be cleaning house just to well.....Clean house. But we think we are going to stick with our first "Could be". No one really knows what Gawker Media is worth except Denton himself and we feel that a sale may not be too far around the corner. Now as for the canned Jess Oxfeld, will he launch his own blog network or will he land at a Gawker rival. Oh wait.........He will do what all bloggers do at some point, write a book. read...

The Matters that Matter

Business 2.0 tells us who matters in media and we are so not shocked that we.........The consumer comes out on top. Afterall we are creating content for these big media bastards. Some included on the list is our friend in our head, Gawker Media's Nick Denton at #47, Rupert Murdoch in at #4 and Barry Diller at #16. However we are shocked that our man Tom Freston didnt make the cut being that he runs the coolest media company in the world. We can understand Les Moonves not making the cut but come on, where is Tommy? 50 who matter

Morning Wire: The Huffington Post didn't fully deliver on celeb bloggers but we still go there anyway

Ariana Huffington the founder of the Huffington Post is all smiles much like in the pic (right) because well.................We made her blog a success. The Huffington Post had more than 1.3 million unique visitors last month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, and more than 2 million in February. These numbers are already attracting the likes of internet big wig Barry Diller, and has deal with AOL and Yahoo! It seems that Ms. Huffington, who has taken to social climbing with the finesse of a ballerina and the ferocity of a fullback, has found finally found her métier. Nick Denton, founder and publisher of Gawker Media, calls her "the only establishment figure to make the transition to the Web." read....

This week in New York Magazine: New York media's hottest

This week's New York Magazine features a list of the who's who in New York Media. Yes Les Moonves was mentioned and so was Tom Freston. Time Warner's Dick Parsons starts the list off followed by Fox New's Roger Ailes Si Newhouse and not surprisingly our good old buddy in our head, Nick Denton. more....

Question of the day:Will Nick Denton ever sell?

We have read numerous stories in the past and the present about Gawker Media being for sale, or it was sold or aliens took it over etc. We've heard it all. But what's really the story behind these stories. Are they even true? Could Nick Denton be the one planting these stories himself in an effort to juice up interest from big media companies? What would Gawker go for if Nick did decide to sell? Some have it at $20 Million? Would he give all his editors a cut? The most recent story is in this week's Businessweek. The article lists Gawker as a potential target for Newscorp's Fox Interactive unit which has been on an internet spending spree. Why doesn't Nick Denton just sell and dump the money into something else then sell that too? We personally think Mr. Denton has a hand in some of the stories that have surfaced in the past. Like we said its an effort to juice up interest and create buzz to get the attention of deep pocketed media firms. With a juiced up profile he can bargain his ass off for the price he may be interested in selling at. We bet he already has the exact amount he would sell his company for. more....

Nick Denton and his Gawkers are among Fortune's top Net Boom investment picks

Nick Denton should be proud of his gang of "Snarky" take no prisoner editors. Mr. Denton's Gawker Media has once again come up on a list of sites that may say are smart investment picks. Gawker was listed among other sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube to name a few. These websites are said to be the hot picks of the moment. "The Boom Is Back"

But will our friend in our head Nick Denton take the money and run?

According to Mediaweek, major media companies are on the prowl for hot web properties. With Newscorp's purchase of Myspace.com and NBC Universals recent purchase of iVillage.com to name a couple, these deals are setting off a feeding frenzy among media companies looking to sink their claws into a juicy heavy traffic web companies. And again Gawker Media was mentioned as a possible target. This isn't the first time we've heard about Gawker being on the block or even sold. There were many rumors circulation on the web that Gawker was sold to Yahoo!. But this came about due to a syndication deal the company entered with Yahoo!. But if the price is right will Nick Denton take the money and run? In a presentation delivered recently to the Online Publishers Association, Tolman Geffs listed Gawker, CNET, Facebook.com, Atom Films, Beliefnet.com, YouTube.com and CollegeHumor.com as the next targets. Well if Gawker is a potential target and they do get sold, we don't think Jessica Cohen or Jesse Oxfeld would have to worry about being pushed out because after all, if the new owners want to keep the traffic coming these to would have to be kept on and of course paid well. So maybe they or Nick Denton wouldn't mind a sale. Nick would get richer, and both Jesse and Jessica would finally get paid. [Mediaweek]