Gawker: Shock

Nicki Minaj Shocked at Crass Commercialization of MTV Video Music Awards

Max Read — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:23:48 EDT

[Rapper Nicki Minaj readies herself for internet meme status posing for press photographers backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards. Lady Gaga won best video, and young songwriter Kanye West performed some kind of a "rap." Pic via AP.] More »

Bush Speechwriter: Even Bush Recognized Sarah Palin's Dumbness

Pareene — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:03:21 EDT

Bush speechwriters keep writing books, as if in an attempt to convince us that despite their former job, they are indeed able to read and write above a fourth-grade level. The latest: Matt Latimer says Bush didn't like Palin! More »

Joe the Plumber Attacks Michael Steele

Pareene — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:03:47 EDT

It's like a MadLib, isn't it? [Marginal unappealing GOP figurehead] criticized [unelected/unelectable GOP media mouthpiece] for [insane thing]. More »

Is Joe Biden's Senate Replacement... An Atheist?

Pareene — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:49:02 EST

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Quelle horreur! Ted Kaufman, the guy appointed to Joe Biden's Delware Senate seat, might secretly not believe in God! More »

When You're Kissing Peggy Siegal's Face

Choire — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:37:26 EDT

For various reasons, we got lost in the Gawker archives last night. So what happened on this day in years gone by? More »

Media Bubble: 'Times' Tells Feds To Eat A Bag Of Dicks

abalk2 — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:20:58 EST

NYT says "[Redacted], you [redacted] [redacted] of the CIA. Go [redacted] a up your [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] until it [redacted]." Ouch. [NYT] More »

'Shock,' Magazine for Illiterates, Closing

Doree Shafrir — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 17:03:37 EST

In what should be a shock (sorry) to absolutely no one, Hachette Filipacchi is shuttering Shock, the magazine that made just about everyone want to avert their eyes, but keeping the website, ShockU.com. The memo from Hachette head Jack Kliger:

It is difficult to make a decision to close a title, but I am announcing today that we will no longer publish Shock magazine. The final issue will be the February publication on newsstands December 26, 2006. We wanted to test the French magazine's concept in the U.S.; however, after six months in the marketplace, Shock's performance at newsstands has not produced trends that indicate that we will get the returns that we are looking for. On the other hand, the web site has shown real energy and connection with this young demographic and the 41 page-views-per-visitor-session is one of the highest for web sites at Hachette. The company will maintain the web site ShockU.com and will work toward a redesign and relaunch of the web site in Spring 2007.

Magazine For Illiterates Will Show JFK Assassination Pictures For Food

abalk2 — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 10:50:42 EST

How are things going at Shock, Hachette Filapacchi's sophisticated periodical for the discerning consumer who likes to see photographic depictions of nameless Arabs getting blowed up? If the latest "media advisory" is any indication, uh, not so great. EIC Mike Hammer (whose job, we're guessing, mainly consists of saying, "Can we get a shot of Emmy Rossum that shows a little more ass cleavage, please?"), sent out the current sell sheet to pretty much everyone he's ever worked with, pretty much begging them to buy the thing: More »

Magazine For Illiterates Blends Elements of 'Maxim,' 'The Economist'

abalk2 — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 18:30:37 EDT

A friend passes along a promotional e-mail from Shock magazine, Hachette Filapacchi's attempt to nail down the market of those who find mouth breathing a challenge. Along with an opportunity to preview the new issue, the e-mail offers the following manifesto: More »

Media Bubble: Meghan Daum Turning Into Poor Man's Chuck Klosterman

abalk2 — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 16:15:58 EDT

• Meghan Daum is still finding ways to make money off of having lived in Nebraska. [Salon] More »

This Just In: Nothing Has Changed in 'Shock' Photo Feud

Jesse — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 11:40:12 EDT

So remember how Hachette Filipacchi published the first issue of Shock magazine with that cover photo of the U.S. soldier in Iraq holding a bloodied baby? And remember how the guy who shot the photo, Michael Yon, flipped out, arguing that he never sold the rights to the image? And remember how it turned out that Hachette thought it had done the right thing and purchased rights from a photo agency, but that the agency never really had the rights to sell in the first place? And remember how all parties tried to reach a settlement, and thought they did, but then Yon backed out at the last minute? And you know how that's where things have been stuck for a few weeks now? Yeah? Well, that's where it still stands. Hachette put out a press release last night just to make sure you know that. More »

Gawker's Week in Review: A Moment of Silence for Erik Wemple

Jessica — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 17:33:10 EDT

• The Village Voice's new EIC Erik Wemple changes his mind, quitting the gig before he had technically started. Not surprisingly, the New Times has fucked things beyond repair. More »

Magazine for Illiterates Removed From Its Rightful Place Alongside Fall Out Boy Records

abalk2 — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 17:17:28 EDT

So Shock, Hachette Filapacchi's effort to create a publication that speaks to readers who find words and punctuation too intrusive, continues to struggle for a place in the nation's newsracks. AdAge reports that Tower Records has joined the growing list of outlets that have yanked it from the shelves, although in this case the removal comes because of the ongoing conflict with photographer Michael Yon (as opposed to Rite Aid's rationale, which was that the magazine is crap.) Hachette is understandably aggrieved at the campaign against its publication. President/CEO Jack Kliger says, "There's no question that... efforts to convince retailers that it is consumers who are upset at the issue have succeeded in some cases, even though that's not what the fact is... [T]hese are not complaints being made by Shock readers — these are complaints being made by Michael Yon's followers. There's a big difference." More »

Magazine for Illiterates Removed From Venue Not Exactly Staffed by Rhodes Scholars

abalk2 — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 11:17:37 EDT

Sad news for those of you who get your Valtrex prescriptions filled at the Rite Aid: The chain has pulled Shock magazine - Hachette Filapacchi's appeal to the all-important borderline retarded demographic - from its shelves. Surprisingly, the magazine's removal had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict between Hachette and photographer Michael Yon; it reflects an aesthetic judgment on Rite Aid's part. Company spokesperson Judy Cook says, "We did pull it. The content wasn't really what we were expecting and it didn't fit with our product mix." Apparently our nation's Medicare Advantage Plan participants are already getting all the shots of blown-up Iraqi children and celebrity ass cleavage through the mail. More »

Magazine for Illiterates Disregards Opinions of Semi-Literates

abalk2 — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 18:35:47 EDT

Remember Michael Yon? He's the photographer who blew a gasket when Shock magazine - Hachette Filapacchi's new offering for the recently lobotomized - allegedly used his photo of an American soldier cradling an injured Iraqi child without permission. A reported settlement has fallen through, and Yon is none too pleased about it. Hachette Filapacchi (a French company, and therefore evil) "resorted to delay tactics, equivocation, and the same kind of thinly veiled threat that has characterized their style of doing business." Their greatest sin, however, appears to be having shown disdain for the blogosphere. More »

Remainders: Lindsay Lohan, Al Gore Smackdown

Jessica — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 18:15:21 EDT

• Al Gore and Lindsay Lohan are in a "huge feud." "She knows what she did," says Gore. Wait — is he making a funny? Good for him! [Deadline Hollywood] More »

Mag for Illiterates Can Live to Shock Again!

Jesse — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 11:59:16 EDT

Worried you wouldn't get your chance to see photos of Chernobyl victims, self-immolation, and a bearded Val Kilmer making out with Paris Hilton? You can relax. Ad Age is reporting that late Friday night Hachette's new Shock magazine — which contains all those delightful images, plus so much more — reached a deal with photog Michael Yon, who claimed the mag had no right to put on its cover his image of a U.S. soldier carrying a wounded Iraqi child and had demanded all issues be pulled from newsstands. More »

Magazine For Illiterates Can't Even Rip Off Photos Right

abalk2 — Tue, 30 May 2006 17:05:34 EDT

So Shock magazine, Hachette's attempt to corner the market on readers who find Us Weekly too intellectual, got in a bit of a kerfuffle with Michael Yon, the photographer who took the picture that graces the magazine's first cover. (The picture of the soldier cradling the Iraqi kid, not the one of Jessica Simpson.) Seems that Yon didn't approve the use of the photo, saying in a statement, "I regularly turn down usage requests for this photo — uses that could earn money — because this photo is sacred to me and is representative of the U.S. soldiers I have come to know. It is also representative of the horrors of the enemy we all face." Hachette, for its part, claims to have "obtained publishing rights for the image from a reputable photo agency," and is looking into the matter. More »

Gawker's Week in Review: Diane Sawyer Gets Royally Screwed

Jessica — Fri, 26 May 2006 16:00:11 EDT

• Charlie Gibson scores the ABC anchor spot, leaving poor Diane Sawyer high and dry. More »

Not Shockingly, 'Shock' Aims to Shock You

Jessica — Fri, 26 May 2006 13:00:24 EDT

Hachette's Shock magazine hits the newsstands on May 30, but early copies are floating around Mediaville, and a greasy copy has thus arrived at HQ And, dare we say, it's a thing of lowbrow beauty. If the National Enquirer bound and gagged Life and forced it to sift through Rotten.com, it would result in something like this. Cheap ($1.99), low on words (there has to be well under 1000 in the entire issue) and bravely independent of advertising (FishbowlNY dutifully notes a mere 3 ad pages), Shock just might be the perfect publication for happily deranged voyeur within us all. More »