Doree Returns (To Gawker)
OMG! Following in the footsteps of her mentor, Doree Shafrir—who we all love—is RETURNING TO GAWKER. Hopefully she will bring back the dildo with her!
UPDATE: OOH! And also Richard Lawson! It's like nostalgia or something! Something GOOD!
ALSO: It should be made clear that Doree is only returning as a two-day-a-week contributor. A two-day-a-week contributor, okay? It is apparently very important that we clarify: Doree Shafrir back at Gawker as a two-day-a-week contributor. We hear those days are Thursday and Friday, but whatever days they are, it will only be two of them.
This is a good thing.
Fuck AND yeah.
It's because my holiday cards to the Awl office are so late, isn't it?
GAH! What do internet people I've never met WANT?!?
Hez enough is enough – your desperate attention-seeking and self promotion only got you so far at Gawker. The grudge you bear against the editors who tried to curtail it is embarrassing to witness. Let it go girl, you're just a regular commenter on a blog, not the whip-smart superstar you see in the mirror. Accept reality, please.
Happy holidays to you too, asshole! xoxo
Yay.
hopefully she brings some Latkes.
Black Dildo Principle for days.
Can we still have Doree on Wednesdays and every other weekend? Please?
Happy Happy Joy Joy. Hope her stint lasts longer this time.
That link is like performance art now with the new Gawker format. Read to the end:
"Contact information for this author is not available."
Anywhere with regular doses of Doree is a good place.
Now that I mention it, maybe a regular "Doses of Doree" column would be good.
This is brilliant news for Gawker readers; hope it's also brilliant news and not just "well, if I close my eyes and think of the pageviews" for Doree. But then, she's never been a doormat.
And also Richard Lawson!
http://twitter.com/gabrielsnyder/status/6950423030
OMG, it's BACK TO THE FUTURE! This is great news all around. Two of my all-time Gawker favorites are returning!
Wow. Maybe it'll start being cool to like Gawker again.
Suck a bone, Hip; you've been missing out. To quote Hov: "Welcome. Tothe. Future. Blue. Print. 3"
Well it was *always* cool to like Weekend Gawker. :-)
Seriously, I didn't mean that *I* didn't think it was cool to like Gawker. I've liked Gawker all along! I was just referring to … oh, never mind.
One wonders why they left (voluntary or otherwise) in the first place.
Now, if only Sheila also returns.
Over Denton's dead body, and Sheila only to kick said body! The only bigger sign of the Apocalypse would be if Spiegelman came back.
Will never happen. (Spiegs, I mean.)
Does this mean all the my clients that left since 2007 are coming back?
This all begets the question: So who's out?
Rushfield is out, and *hopefully* Moylan.
Hey, no Moylan bashing!
I like Brian's stuff; he's witty and inventive. And he's a really good guy!
Christ, I imagine working in that office being like walking on thinner eggshells than my drunk relatives at (holiday) and constantly waiting to fall out of favor and for the axe to fall.
Wait, that sounds like pretty much any job, never mind.
Well RIDE THE GAY TAXI!
?
http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/birmmail/may2008/4/2/25223BCD-C1F9-798B-23A330FBEB04017C.jpg
(We are going to need an updated seating chart.)
And you know what? I'm psychic because I fucking woke up and kept hearing "I learned it by watching you" in my head over and over and over again until I got distracted in the shower by the (still! just like yesterday!) empty bath gel container.
The connection to Doree and Richard's return is so obvious now that I can't believe I couldn't put it together this morning.
scaryscaryscaryscaryscaryscaryscaryscaryscaryscaryscar
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Oh hello! I would have chimed in earlier but I was trapped at a showing of Avatar.
Anyway. Yes, I am returning to Gawker the first week of January. But unlike Richard I'm not going back full-time. I'll be there two days a week, most likely Thursdays and Fridays. Send tips!!!!!!!!!
"Excellent work, Doree."
Thanks for your attention.
There will be Bloody Marys.
You, sir, were gone much too long. You pulled the old "step out for cigarettes and never return" trick. It's about time you got back!!
Have you head a "Bloody Bull"? Take a Bloody Mary and add a shot of beef broth. FANTASTIC.
happy fucking christmas all around!
Welcome back, Doree!
I guess 2/5 good news is better than no good news!
(Speaking of tips: Will "Glaring Omissions" come back too?)
Tell us about the Navi!
So we do get to keep you on Wednesdays, is what you're saying…
Anybody know my Gawker password?
CHALLAH?
kthx
Hooray!
Breaking my Awl comment cherry to say that I'm stoked about this.
Hooray! But a GIRL on Gawker?!? Unpossible!
Seriously, though, as someone who, due to boring work, has continued to read Gawker through some recent… rough patches (though I think it's a bit better now), this will literally make my day. And, not to be mean (just kidding), having Richard back instead of Moylen would be heaven. I feel sorry for him, because I think he's finally starting to be able to have something of his own voice now, but he really was just brought on to be Richard's Cousin Oliver (irony!), and it was a pale, pale reflection. I just hope Denton lets Richard run with the even longer, more outre recapping he's been doing on TV.com, because that shit is gold.
P.S. Ahem!
Hold it – Doree's a girl?
Nice work Doree! Now that I have no allegiances, all my tipz is going to you.
O RLY.
OMG annnnnnnnnnnd I have a new nephew as of NOW! REAL-SOLSTICE MIRACLE PAGAN BITCHEZ
Ahhh Congrats!!!!
Please tell me that REAL-SOLSTICE MIRACLE PAGAN BITCHEZ is the name of your new nephew?
YAY AUNTIE MATHNET!!
Congrats! Other people's kids are so much more fun!
This is my personal mantra for realz.
Why was I never told this (until it was too late)?
I say this to my nieces every single time they ask me for something: "Do whatever you want, you're not my kids"
I say this to my friends every time I see a child do something adorable, though my version is "I LOVE other people's CHILDREN!!!"
That's awesome. You can keep track of his approximate age based on seasons which, if you (like me) happen to have a brain struggling with maximum capacity issues, it is a nice mnemonic device.
Congrats! Let the spoiling commence…
Aww thanks. Little REAL-SOLSTICE MIRACLE PAGAN BITCHEZ is a hell of a guy.
The fuck's a "Gawker"?
srsly, this may actually get me to read Gawker again.
Oh, I know: I've been missed.
ME THREE!
And: YES!
Also, YAAAAAYS!
I hope Unfun comes back too.
We're getting the band back together!
And, of course, Gawker Media sites (Deadspin and Gawker) are down right now in celebration.
So what trend has Denton snorted now? Newser boring him? I got it! He's fucking drank the Allison Mooney Kool-aid. Ok now I can ignore them until the next twitch.
Something I'd like to know: why do so many writers leave Gawker and then come back? Is it one of those places that seems awful until you realize you have no better options? Or maybe it's something else, something more interesting? Inquiring minds want to know…
andj, I think the short answer is that writers go back because Gawker Media sites and sites modeled after them spent the bulk of this past decade systematically obviating and destroying most all of writers' other options for regular employment. We'll all work at Gawker one day! In fact, many of you already do, by commenting there for free.
I was having the same thought this morning, lady. And I'm torn between seeing two good writers get work, and, and–and what you said.
I hate to take the hard line but I must admit that Emily is correct.
Exactly. And I stopped reading Gawker FOREVER the day they pulled that fake vampire blog advertising bullshit. There is no forgiveness for that.
You mean I'm supposed to PAY to comment? And they haven't caught me yet?
Is this sort of like having ex-cons do the Scared Straight sessions?
Well, we're getting a steady paycheck elsewhere, so it works out. For us.
And then there are the places we write for free, too! CRAZY.
You just destroyed a little piece of my soul. (But I can't write anything longer than a comment!)
Well, that sucks. And I don't mean to sound glib. I really enjoy your writing and the writings of many former-Gawker writings. I'd like to think there was at least a chance at good remuneration and a career ladder and all that.
When you say "systematically destroyed," do you think it was intentional or just the way market forces shaped things?
writings (the second one) = writers
Also, I checked the link about Gawker employees v. contractors. After taking income tax law, I think I could offer some non-expert advice to contractors about deductions (from their Canadian income taxes)!
There isn't enough EXCITED CLAPPING!!! in the world…
(But this needs to be said: CHOIRE DON'T YOU GO GETTING ANY IDEAS. Balk, I'll be over later with some bungee cords to help you strap him to that TableDesk. Because God knows you don't know how to use a damn bungee cord, mutter mutter.)
FNFF here we come. Much more fun than Tumblr (don't take it the wrong way, Tumblr, it's not you, it's me.)
Well, shits and wiggles.
Congratulations, you two.
Beware the Darkside, and, you know, all that, but–take it back. Take Back Gawker for the Real Gawkeria.
You be nice to Richard, Mr. D. I know where you live.
Lawson's recaps are the only acceptable reason for watching MTV programming. Well, that and the occasional bare boob on True Life.
This reminds me of the time that Foxy Brown deleted Defamer from my bookmarks list.
….And so it begins.
Really? It reminds me of the time Nick Denton completely effed up my favorite blog and then spent 2 years putting it through the "Will it Blend?" blender, before finally trying to reanimate it by bringing back only its uvula and left testicle. Not that I'm bitter.
It also reminds me of the time Richard Kind ding dong ditched my grandmother and blamed it on Emmanuel Lewis.
This is wonderful news for everyone except my overburdened Google Reader. L'chaim!
Richard Lawson owes me a drink that we'll both actually remember.
Jesus, why am I up at 9:30 on vacation? Ooo! 'The History of Christmas' is on the History Channel… oh, all day.
I'm at work, you dog.
SEE? SEE ME WORKING HERE?!?
Oh, shit. Hold on a minute. Boss. WTF now? Doesn't he see I'm BUSY??
Is it??? My man got me a huge honking TV for Xmas this year so I am floundering around for things to watch on it while awaiting the Second Coming of Lolcait.
@HiredGoons: Honestly, we need to be best friends.
besties!!!
*(Renee Zellwegger squint-smile)
Cue montage!
YAY! Congrats Doree and Richard!!! I too cannot remember my Gawker password, it's been that long. You need a scorecard to follow the players in this saga, I am telling you.
I forgot mine too, but sometimes old relationships look better from a distance.
Word. The Awl is still my primary care website.
I couldn't handle anymore after they started giving a blowjob to the corpse of Dash Snow.
I'll never go back. Now that I've seen the future– and lo' it is stupid AWESOME– I won't revisit that past. Why would you? (Glad you've got a gig, Doree, and best wishes. When you've amassed a fortune, come back here, 'kay?)
I think I'll go and just read the Doree/Richard posts, and avoid reading the comments altogether, ne'er to login again. The couple of times I've been back for a quick visit, the whole commenting order was beyond my feeble brain's comprehension, anyway. PLUS those Pinko Commies took away the star that Richard gave me! I think! But I'm not sure!
YES.
Thank God, reading the comments on Richard's tv.com pieces was painful. And Doree, please do your best to clean up the mess, thx.
His recaps there were no where near as whimsical as those on Gawker.
Will Jack Ketch come back, too? Cuz I can never tell if I've been executed or there's just another software foul-up.
I hope Ketch comes back. I miss that touch of danger.
Congratulations to both! I wondered what was making Richard too verklempt to do his Jersey Shore recap justice. Happy news!
Also, hello! I know it's great and cool and awesome to regard Gawker with different stripes of contempt – for whatever reason everyone has, and like snowflakes, many of them are unique! – but it'd be disingenuous to write off the hard work some of the people over there are doing (far from what I do, which is a sad 36 hour song-and-dance cross-section where dick jokes about Andrew Sullivan and Lady Gaga meet in the middle).
But John digs deep and finds great stuff. Hamilton's a workhorse. Alex's editorials are political commentary gone Sniper-Shoot the Freak. Brian worked way harder than any of you have any idea to get where he is, and he continues to produce incredibly creative stuff. Adrian Chen is now the funniest person Gawker's had since, well, Richard left, and Ravi Somaiya – who came from the NYT City Room – is, for a guy working in the middle of the night with fairly limited resources, one hell of a reporter. This goes without mentioning the other sites. Hello: AJ. Etc. I could go on.
So! Label the institution or the machine or whatever the fuck you want, but at least give credit to the work that goes into it. It's not an easy job, but writers are writing, and they're trying to give it due diligence, and I think, often, they do it very well. That's all.
Fek don't know you from Adam but you do seem to have a personality that comes across in your work. And it's fun, in the same way that Spiers, Choire, Coen, Emily And Balk and many others made Gawker fun and gave it a sense of who they were. They became your imaginary best friends. What little I see of it now appears to be an endless stream of Jersey Shore linkbait, interspersed with rehashed NyTimes links that I prefer to read there. And then there's Gabriel Snyder telling everyone how fucking awesome Gawker is and people like this Moylan person screaming at the gays cuz they just don't understand him. I really can't tell one of you from another. It all just runs together but in sum it exudes this sort of fuck you world attitude that only works for an overprivileged coddled to the manor born Williamsburg prick. I don't doubt you all work hard but that doesn't mean the world has to love your product.
Moylan deserves/d to defend himself and gets "screamed" at more than anyone would like to admit. It's hard filling a cult figure's shoes but I think he's more capable and has been given almost no credit. Take A.Belonsky, I have absolutely no idea what happened behind the scenes but commenters had their pitchforks out for him and now he's gone. Were either of these men unqualified? No. Are Gawker commenter raging shreiking self involved assholes?* Yes. I would never want to go under that microscope of Gawker as either a writer or a subject. Although it's probably formed a lot of thick skins. That being said, I hate to dish too much about G because I love the Awl. Thank you The Awl, Happy Holidays!
*I'm one.
Hey hey hey I will hear no further dissing of my man Brian Moylan.
His is good and funny writer and a great guy. The end.
It's very hard thing to do, to write things you don't like writing, or about things you don't care about, and also to work to a quota.
(Of course it's also hard to, you know, stock Target shelves or whatever too.)
Mr. Sicha, you are doing the best job ever of making me feel like we are imaginary friends. Balk, hmmm. I'm thinking he might hit me up for liquor money but he's working on it. But yes. 100% agreed. I'm the world's crappiest salesman for the product I produce.
Did balk get home ok? I worry about him.
Amen to what you said. I like all of the current Gawker writers, and think you're doing great stuff.
Fek, I know I risk not getting my intended point across clearly here (I am not a professional writer, and I respect those that are! It is hard to do!), but I think a lot of the gawker-bashing that goes on here is more related to a personal preference thing, rather than hating the current writing staff. I know it is virtually impossible to not take it personally if you're currently spending the vast majority of your waking hours pouring yourself into working for something, and then reading about people purposely not reading it. I'm sure you're all really great writers! Because Nick really doesn't allow awful writers to last (hell, he doesn't even allow some really good writers to last!).
But for me, there was no day that I just up and decided I wouldn't read it anymore, it was more of a gradual thing where the topical content was frankly no longer holding my interest, the commenting community was changing in culture enough that I no longer enjoyed being part of it, and the marked increase in posts kinda overwhelmed me. But that's just me! You still have a lot of traffic and a large, devoted commenting community who probably think you're all wonderful. With few exceptions (i.e. those commenters here who are holding an e-grudge against Denton), I think many of the people here who think it is "cool" to regard Gawker with contempt are actually in the same boat as I am. I wouldn't say we're holding it in contempt (nor that we think not liking a website anymore is 'cool,' because yikes, that would be pathetic), we're just no longer the target audience. And I'm ok with that!
Anyway, carry on doing good work, and congrats on your talented additions!
Huzzah! All the best to Doree and to Richard.
I hated all Gawker writers after the first reign of Sicha.. Making an effort to figure out Balk's appeal, though.
Everything about this comment is perfect.