Place Your Bets on the New Mediabistro EIC
This week has been nothing but good news for sly Gawker alum Elizabeth Spiers: She sold her book, quit her job, and was last seen flirting with an empty margarita glass. But with all these happy changes come misery around the offices of Mediabistro, as founder Laurel Touby must put down her hostess boa for a moment and begin the daunting task of finding Spiers's replacement.
So: Who will Touby offer the gig to, and who the hell will possibly take the job? We've put together a list of potential candidates and, with the help of our vice-loving brother A.J. Daulerio of Oddjack, present you with the odds on who will don Mediabistro's editorial crown of thorns. After the jump, shortlist candidates Michael Caruso, Jon Fine, Aileen Gallagher, Andrew Krucoff, Greg Lindsay, Hud Morgan, Ron Mwangaguhunga, Jill Singer, Choire Sicha, and Remy Stern, all presented in bookie-friendly form.
Michael Caruso: Caruso, who recently quit his EIC gig at Men's Journal, is in desperate need of a job. But it has to be for an employer well-stocked with laser printers. He has great pedigree, but we're not sure Mediabistro is ready just yet for premium content offering 2,500-word articles on "How to Write the Perfect Ice Climbing Essay." Maybe next year.
Odds: 35/1
Jon Fine: To shit, or to eat? The ridiculously overqualified husband of MB "founder & cyberhostess" Laurel Touby may be a last resort if the editor search gets really tough. But would he have to submit his resume via the 'Bistro job board to secure an interview? And we know he can tolerate Laurel for extended periods of time.
Odds: 3/1
Aileen Gallagher: God bless this poor woman, who has the unenviable job of "interim" editor while Mediabistro searches for Spiers's replacement. Were she to make the shortlist, she wouldn't even have the opportunity to set aside interview time with her own employer in the next two months, as she'll be so bogged down trying to do the work of, oh, 14 people. If you see a bloody feather boa blowing around Soho in the next couple months, well, Aileen probably didn't get the job. (Also see: Singer, Jill).
Odds: 42/1
Andrew Krucoff: The originally scheduled Fishbowl blogger, Gawker mascot Krucoff mysteriously "disappeared" during his first few days as an MB employee. So we'd be quite surprised if he decided to even answer a phone call for an interview. Actually, no: He would. And he'd agree to be taken out for drinks to further discuss the opportunity, at which point he'd be very charming and impressive. Then he'd take the job. Then he'd never show up.
Odds: 40/1
Greg Lindsay: A champion medialand schmoozer and natty-man-about-town freelancer, Greg's a great person for the job, and someone who seems to get on with Laurel despite knowing her for several years. But would he really want it? Already a well-established "part-time employee" for Mediabistro (read: they give him free health insurance), he'd most likely politely decline. (Well, not politely. Smugly.) Plus, after a month-long freelance assignment spent living in various overseas airports, unless MB decides to redesign its office to replicate the terminal at Changi, he wouldn't be able to function optimally.
Odds: 6/1
Hudson Morgan: Will Lloyd Grove's departure (as reported 400 times in the Observer) leave this dynamic Assistant Gossipmonger homeless? Hud's fate (and that of his pink shirts) depends on it. It seems only right for this tall drink of — well, anything that can be drunk — to end up in a cocktail-party-based business. Longer odds are offered on whether or not Grove even knows what Mediabistro is.
Odds: 10/1
Ron Mwangaguhunga: He's another ubiquitous web presence, well-versed in media issues, but can Mediabistro's spotty, problem-prone server handle such a gargantuan surname on a daily basis? Plus, let's be honest, Jayson Blair ruined all editorial-management opportunities for black journalists in New York City. See that ceiling? That's glass, buddy.
Odds: 50/1
Jill Singer: She was the original No. 2 editor at MB, under former EIC and current Gawkster Jesse Oxfeld, and she served as the interim editor between Oxfeld and Spiers. Singer was unceremoniously absent from the shortlist for Oxfeld's replacement, despite keeping the whole thing afloat during the search for a new candidate. It's unlikely she would be able to have a phone conversation without hurling an expletive-laden tirade at the poor soul who dared ask her to apply.
Odds: 25/1
Choire Sicha: The beloved former Gawker princess has a knack for endearing himself to a large web-based community and, coincidentally, replacing Elizabeth Spiers. However, the fact that he's let himself go from well-kempt to slovenly and bearish in recent months will not endear him to MB management. We're pretty sure MB is through experimenting with hairy gay editors. Just a hunch.
Odds: 28/1
Remy Stern: The chilly confines of Radar online are reportedly starting to wear on Remy, a former blogstar who opted for MSM slavery(Have you seen him out lately? The man looks beaten), but that isn't a guarantee that he would entertain any offers from the 'Bistro at this point. What Radar may not offer in personal satisfaction or career growth, it makes up in job security. Actually, let's rethink that....
Odds: 1/10 (prohibitive favorite)
[Disclosure: Oxfeld was editor of Mediabistro before Spiers. Spiers was editor of Gawker before Coen and Oxfeld. Sicha was editor of Gawker before Coen and Oxfeld, but after Spiers. Sicha hired Coen. Krucoff has written for Spiers at Gawker and at MB. Krucoff has written for Coen and Oxfeld at Gawker. Oxfeld hired Singer at MB. Singer has written for Gawker. Oxfeld and Lindsay worked together at Brill's/Inside. Oxfeld gave Lindsay his MB deal. Lindsay wrote for Gridskipper, which is owned by Gawker. Krucoff wrote for Gridskipper. Gallagher has Singer's old job. Gallagher works on the Black Table with Daulerio. Morgan went to college with Oxfeld and Singer, though none of them much knew each other there. Mwangaguhunga emails Gawker at least once a day. Stern has worked for Gawker. None of us knows Caruso.]
