If you're seeing this message, you probably don't need to. Valleywag is loading wonky today, because the server went out and got trashed, came home with its junkie friends, beat me to a pulp, and apologized (all like "Oh baby I'm sorry I just get out of my head sometimes").
Doesn't it seem so, well, anachronistic for a newspaper to actually be in a hiring phase? Indeed it does — and, yet, at the Village Voice, the beat goes on:
The almost-but-not-quite-jailed Time magger will be the new business mag's Washington editor, according to a press release just issued. It's not just yet another attention-grabbing hire for the mag, but it also answers the what-now-for-Matt question, which has been percolating since his near-imprisonment for refusing to testify in the Plame case. He had been Time's White House correspondent when he was subpoenaed the special prosecutor, but he couldn't really go back to that gig after all that legal brouhaha. A vet of all three newsweeklies, it seemed unlikely he'd go back to one of the other two. And his current gig, editing for Time.com, didn't seem — even in Time Inc.'s current we-love-the-web moment — a natural fit for a high-powered reporter type like him. Conde — and, no especially, a Conde salary — takes care of all that rather nicely, don't it?
Watch our movies, just don't call them vlogs — Gawker Media's proud to launch Gawker Clips, our collection of video from every Gawker title. Like a venture capitalist in rut, we'll take anything that moves — original or recommended content — and put it in one deliciously high-bandwidth page. If you squint, it's almost like TV!
When leads need to be chased, bloggers aren't above begging. So here's what Valleywag wants from you:
[UPDATE: Fixed the link, but you gotta rename it with a .mp3. Yeah, it's stupid. Deal.]
The Post reports this morning that "Conde Nast and [EIC Joanne] Lipman have maintained strict radio silence on what the editorial thrust of Portfolio might be." Maybe the tab was tuned to the wrong station? Because the Times, Women's Wear, and Mediaweek somehow manage to get some details on that editorial thrust.
What the — media news on a Sunday? Indeed there is, because those Conde Nasties are tricky. And it's stop-the-presses stuff: The mag company's new business title, in the works for the last nine months under the direction of WSJ turncoat Joanne Lipman, finally has a title. It's Conde Nast Portfolio, which we must say is a much better choice than Quote, as WWD reported Thursday would most likely be the name. ("Where'd that quote from?" "Quote." "Huh?") Its first issue will arrive in May 2007, and the website — cnportfolio.com — is now live. There's still not much of inkling of what will be inside the thing, but two sample covers (click on them to enlarge) were attached to the press release. They are, naturally, also entirely inscrutable. Maybe there'll be more explanation tomorrow?
It's been nine months since Joanna Lipman left The Wall Street Journal to found that new business-focused magazine for Conde Nast and, according to WWD's Sara James, the damned thing finally has a title. It'll be called Quote. Unless, that is, it's called Portfolio. Or perhaps File, or Currency.
What Valleywag got:
Remember the consolidation of the Times regional sections we mentioned before? Apparently, it's not going so well. Sure, providing the same stories for New Jersey, Long Island, and Connecticut might make economic sense, but West Orange guidos are completely different from Bayshore guidos, and there's no way a single piece can do justice to the rich palette of tones and colors that those two divergent groups display. In any event, folks at the NYT have realized this, and restored some local reporting.
It's gotta be awkward when the editor you've been trying to ease out is the menschy star of the National Magazine Awards. So what do you do, Time Inc. EIC John Huey, to square that circle? Enthusiasm! Over-the-top, shouting enthusiasm:
They say New York is full of aspiring filmmakers, fresh from film school or, you know, the streets, eager to get their creations in front of the eyes of the world. We sure hope so, because we're looking for a few good video producers to create short clips suitable for web viewing. And especially ones that don't suck.
This just arrived:
Yay, a new way to read Valleywag! According to this press release a friend forwarded me (score one for internal communication), Mobileplay now offers Valleywag on a free subscription basis. It's "highly scalable" and "fast and easy" (except the bit where you register, opt out of alerts, and download an app).
