Gawker

Posts Tagged “

doree shafrir

books

Why Does Newsweek Hate Blogger Prosperity?

Doree Shafrir has a bone to pick with Newsweek. The former Gawker editor recently scored a book deal from her blog of mom emails, and now Newsweek is asking whether she or any other blogger can even write books, much less sell them. "Many bloggers just repackage what they've already done," the magazine said, citing Gawker's book as an example. But the Gawker book did not contain any content from the site at all, so it can hardly be called "repackaged." And there are all kinds of other problems with Newsweek's blogger book slam: More »

jealous rage

Gawker Alum Paid For Book Your Mom Wrote

The Observer's Doree Shafrir and Jezebel's Jessica Grose landed a book deal for "Postcards From Yo Momma," their beloved tumblr blog that reprints emails from readers' mothers, because we are all terrible children. Doree and Jessica "are said to have received a comfortable... sum," according to Balk, though not as much a the creators of Stuff White People Like. Of course the Stuff White People Like guys actually have to, like, write their book. Themselves! [Radar] Update: Doree says, "they actually want quite a bit of original content." Of course she'll probably make her mom write it.

shut up, brooklyn

Gawker Stalker For The Ultra-Literary Set


Even if the Brooklyn Literary Scene is dead, or as Colson Whitehead put it, annoying and irrelevant, there still are a lot of writers kicking it in the borough of churches. In today's New York Observer, Fort Greene's own Doree Shafrir made an extensive list of the Brooklyn literarati, including neighborhood listings. Not to sound like an asshole, but even I didn't know about some of the writers and editors on the list. The Observer's non-college educated readership will be totally lost. More »

blogging bloggers

Backlash Against Hypothetical Tina Fey Backlash Well Underway

Tina Fey is a smart woman even dumb men like. But that kind of success comes with a price. Or rather, a point: the saturation point. Doree Shafrir, once of Gawker and now of the New York Observer, asked this morning: "Just curious ... ... when the Tina Fey backlash is gonna start. Because, you know, it's inevitable. Any guesses?" The response, within a small circle of bloggers, was deafening. "It's just a matter of time" says Gabe Delahaye the ex-The Unethicist, calling her the J. Lo of comedy. But wait! A retort! "No way, Jose" says Gabe's co-blogger on Videogum, Lindsay Robertson (paraphrasing). Moms — hers specifically — have no idea who Fey is. My opinion? If Tina Fey can survive endorsing Hillary Clinton, she can survive anything. Also, there's a piece of lint in my belly button that won't come out no matter how hard I stare.

glaring omissions

Even More Moms Are Blogging

First Liz Smith and some other "Greatest Generation"-aged women launched Wowowow. Then former Gawker Doree Shafrir started Post Cards From Yo Momma. Now this: "I am e-mailing you because u are the first blog. The very first one. You set the trend. But web 2.0 has changed everything. Mom Blogs are a growing voice and they are 'oh my god' sunny. really sunny. Just read them. They don't talk about Omarosa sightings, they don't give us the 411 on Star Jones leaving the view. But they are growing." The rest of the email after the jump. More »

The Internet Is Full of Moms Gawker alum Doree Shafrir and Jezebel associate editor Jessica Grose started a tumblr made up of nothing but emails from moms. It's inspired reading, and also a fun ("fun") parlour game: match the mom-mail to the famous ("famous") New York media or internet personality! [Postcards From Yo Momma]

Breaking Gawker Alum Report News Doree's mom commented on her Tumblr! She reveals that Doree loved her Commodore 64, which was "discarded" by "wealthy neighbors." [The Doree Chronicles]

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING BREAKING UPDATE: DOREE BOUGHT JOSH THE FATEFUL CLAFOUTIS. OR HALF OF IT ANYWAY. [The Doree Chronicles, Related, Previously]

tumblrwatch

Today In Gawker Alums

Doree is bored by The Wire's Baltimore Sun storyline. Choire is at a seafood restaurant in South Carolina. Emily is posting photos of her dog (and criticizing books about sad literary men). Balk is really sorry he hasn't updated in a while but it's been totally crazy at work!

where are they now

Today In Gawker Alums

On his Tumblr today, Alex Balk muses on Nick Denton's morality, suggests that his vision of hell involves doing his current job with Radar, and makes one (1) tit joke. Guest-blogging at kottke.org, Choire Sicha continues mining Times metro sections of days past for ironies and gimlet-eyed commentary on the sorry state of 2008 New York. Doree Shafrir has a photo of Emily Gould's dog. Emily Gould has re-launched her blog. Jesse Oxfeld IMd us earlier to remind us that he has "a very small and entirely static presence" on the Internet. Jessica Coen's website has itself been fairly static since the start of the year. [Previously]

no exit

Balk's Back!

Former Gawker editor Alex Balk is blogging again! No, not really at Radar, where he works, but on his Tumblr. Have you heard of Tumblr? Allow former Gawker editor Doree Shafrir to explain—in the New York Observer, where she works, or on her Tumblr! Turns out blogging's fun when you're not getting paid for it! More good news: Denton has asked our tech wizards to "splice in" Balk's Tumblr, so you can read his drink-soaked classic rock-despising wisdom right here. (Though not at Radar, where you can read Tionna Smalls' East New York Truth.)

'The Crier' Party And Oliver Sacks Click through for our Community Calendar. Do you have events? Send them to us at calendar@gawker.com even if you aren't a former coworker or a neurologist.

the new new new journalism

Must Every Journalist Act Like A Blogger?

"The journalistic culture in which columnists were the only ones allowed to have a personality, and everyone else's bylines were practically interchangeable, is practically gone," wrote Doree Shafrir in the New York Observer yesterday about how "personal branding" has infected even that holiest of holies, the New York Times. She uses the success of former 'TV Newser' turned Times blogger Brian Stelter as an example of the reversal of protocol that's recently taken place—reporters must now market themselves as specialists from the jump, instead of spending time working different beats until finding a comfortable "sincecure" later in life, in order to prevent themselves from being seen as interchangeable and therefore, redundant. The piece is exactly the kind of thinky, finger-on-pulse thing we've come to expect from Doree Shafrir, who also really likes 'The Hills'! More »

parties

The Political Is Extremely Impersonal At 'Radar'

Last night Radar, which is a magazine, threw a party at Goldbar for its new Politics issue. Outside, someone said that if Goldbar disappeared at that moment from the face of the earth, no one in New York would be offended. But there were free drinks, gold plated skulls, a slew of enemies and a couple of friends and a few awkward situations. Nikola Tamindzic was there to capture the gilded glory of it all. More »

"There are few social situations more awkward than the failed dinner party. The novelist at the table blathers on about his latest opus, to the adoration of the editorial assistant seated at his left and the eye-rolling of everyone else; the beef tenderloin is tough; someone repeatedly leaves to "take a call." That's Doree Shafrir in today's Observer. See the thing about blogging is we're all just too awkward to even attempt a dinner party (they aren't on Facebook) or even sentences with two semicolons! [NYO]

meeting people is easy

Scenes From A Long Night Of Drinking

Last night we went out for late drinks at Von, on Bleecker, to observer the departure of Alex Balk and Doree Shafrir from this here website. There I was accosted by a woman who was referred to as a "slutty intern" in a recent Gawker post about Harper's editor Roger Hodge. More »

this thing looks like that thing

ABC News Handy With Thesaurus

Earlier this week, in her first piece since starting at the Observer, Doree Shafrir wrote of the David Burke & Donatella peanut butter & foie gras sandwich. Coincidentally, ABC News took a look at the sandwich today! Let's compare! More »

why go out?

Art And Magazines Don't Mix At 'Radar' Art Party

"Someone in our art department knows someone at Campari," shrugged a Radar staffer when asked why Radar was co-hosting a party at the Campari gallery in Soho. "Hey, where's Balk?" I rolled my eyes at him. "So are you really upset about him leaving?" the Radar staffer persisted. "Yes, he's like a dadbrother to me," I told him honestly. "But I'm sure he'll have a great time working for you guys. He loves this kind of thing." The Radar staffer was just perspicacious enough to realize that I was being sarcastic. He shook his highball glass, which contained Campari. "Hey, free drinks." Laurel Ptak took photos so you can see just how wrong this scene is.
More »