Elizabeth Spiers Is Not Taking On Jezebel
Elizabeth Spiers is doing a new thing! Spiers, the Gawker founding editor-turned-media mini-mogul and closely watched savant of the blog business, is already talking about her next project, which doesn't have financial backers yet. It's going to be an "online magazine" (translation: blog) aimed at women. Uh oh, does that mean she's taking on our sister Jezebel?
Her idea is to “cater to the female id and the female ego….It’ll be a little less afraid of provocation than a lot of print magazines are. You can do that on the Web.” Spiers said her magazine would be less urban and would skew older than Jezebel, with which her idea is often compared.
Let's analyze: It's not a blog. It's a magazine! On the internet. It can be more provocative than a regular women's magazine. Because it's on the internet! But it's not a blog. So don't compare it to Jezebel (they will cut you over there). It will explore the id and ego of the older, more sedate woman. But it's "less urban" than Jezebel—kind of an unfortunate quote (Spiers: Caucasian. Jezebel: two top editors are not Caucasian! 'Urban': historically a stupid code word for "black." See?) that we will not take the wrong way because we believe Elizabeth Spiers is pure of heart. So, our reading would be: a mildly trash-talking blog aimed at older suburban women. Her description: "Maxim for women." It all fits. [WWD] [UPDATE: Jezebel leg-breaker-in-chief Anna confirms: "I will cut and field dress a bitch. U CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT." She then adds, about Spiers, "(i like her)." Then she challenges Spiers to get "edgier" than Jezebel's "10 Days in the life of a Tampon" story, at which point I got sick.]