Posts Tagged ‘gawker’
On That Thing That You’ve Probably Heard About
So, um, a lot has been made about this whole Gizmodo/iPhone/search warrant thing. I’ve put off weighing in (which has been extremely difficult for someone who, like me, is fascinated by issues like media ethics and criminal law), but so much of the commentary thus far has seemed so incredibly off-base (especially regarding the legal, procedural elements of the case) I felt compelled to add my two cents.
But first, standard disclaimer: I’ve been an intern at Gawker Media, which owns Gizmodo, since last July. That said, I learned about this story the same way (and at the same time) everyone else did. I haven’t discussed the story with anyone at the company, I don’t have any insidery details, I’m not a lawyer, I don’t know anything about what the lawyers are actually thinking, and my take on this whole situation is a complete armchair analysis that in no way reflects or represents the position of my colleagues or employers. In fact, my opinion is based almost entirely on too many Law & Order re-runs and a handful of journalism and law classes (including First Amendment and criminal procedure). We all know what educations in those fields are worth these days, so take it with a proverbial grain of salt. More »
Confessions of an Orphaned Intern
So I know these Oprah posts are bringing in killer pageviews and all (an aggregate 138,000 so far), but I’m kind of bummed (although not surprised) that this “Mickey Kaus Oppo Research Project” post isn’t getting a little more attention. It was actually a lot of fun to work on, and these two comments totally made my day:
destor23: The mere fact that you were able to figure out who Mickey Kaus is means that serious candidates should hire you guys for big money.
accountabilibuddy: Mental note: Be on good terms with Gawker staff before running for office. The level of research that went into torpedoing a candidacy of zero importance for the fun of it is rarely seen outside of bored 4chans.
Also, look into hiring John and Sergio to destroy enemies.
Great stuff gentlemen.
A fellow intern asked me today how I was “dealing” with John Cook’s departure. Incidentally, today was his last day at Gawker, and it is — of course — a bummer (even though my internship ends in three weeks, anyway).
But more importantly I’m excited to see what happens next (for him at Yahoo, and for me… um, in life?), and all I can say is I’m grateful for the chance to have worked with and learn from him, and humbled to be now or ever have been considered anywhere near even just the orbit of this dude’s league.
How to Torpedo a Sham Political Campaign
The Mickey Kaus Oppo Research Project
By John Cook
Poor blogger Mickey Kaus is running for Senate, and no one really cares. But we do, so we launched a little project to gather dirt on him. The best we got is that he brings heroin-addicted sex perverts into schools.
Kaus, who has made a career out of attacking liberals while claiming to be one, is challenging Barbara Boxer in California’s Democratic primary because he hates unions and illegal immigrants. He’s filed all the necessary paperwork and got himself a fancy (and crappy-looking, compared to his blog) web site, but so far the effort seems to be a bust: The party has denied him a speaking slot at the California Democratic convention, a decision that was based largely on his own repeated public statements that his candidacy is hopeless. And there’s no way he’s going to land a chance to debate Boxer.
A few weeks ago, with the aid of the inestimable Gawker intern Sergio Hernandez, we started looking into Kaus’ past for the sort of damaging information that could derail his campaign if anybody were paying enough attention to actually attempt to derail it. Turns out he’s a horrible nerd who graduated first in his class and got a perfect score on his SATs, so there’s not much there. But some of his friends hate him and said underminer-ish things, and we got some really embarrassing photos from his high school yearbook, so let’s get started, shall we? More »
Awwww, “inestimable.”
Tales From a Disgruntled Harpo Employee
Ex-Employee Dishes on Life Inside Oprah’s Empire
This week we brought you excerpts from the gossipy new Oprah biography by Kitty Kelley. Today we heard from an ex-Harpo staffer who shared with us all sorts of juicy details about what life’s like working for the daytime diva.
By Like Kathy Griffin Says: If I Get Killed, Investigate Oprah
Excerpts From the Biography That Oprah Doesn’t Want You to Read, Part 2
Yesterday we shared a bunch of excerpts from Kitty Kelley’s gossipy new Oprah biography. Today: Another batch of potentially scandalous snippets from the book, provided you’re willing to believe a 68-year-old woman who still goes by “Kitty.”
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