The NYO scoops, Gawker confirms: Alex Balk is leaving Gawker, where he has served as editor since July 2006, to move to Radar as online editor. Word on the street is that Radar made Balk an offer he couldn't refuse (thank you, alleged deep pockets of alleged Ron Burkle!), which meant a quickie resignation and a sudden turnover of Gawker editorial talent as newcomer Maggie Shnayerson joins today to replace Doree Shafrir, who departed for the New York Observer. Gawker editor Emily Gould, after hours editor Josh Stein and managing editor Choire Sicha remain (for now; Gould's Facebook away message this weekend read "Emily Gould is freaking the fuck out, obvs!").
Indeed, the loss of Balk, who will leave in two weeks, is no small thing. Known for his smart prose, sharp wit, and polymathian grasp of a ridiculously complete array of subjects (like, say, Canada), Balk's name was often found alongside some of the site's most comprehensive posts (as well as some of its most arcane) — his coverage of the Rupert Murdoch-WSJ saga comes to mind, as well as some of the more colorful obituaries, plus creative writing. He also made a name on the site for a certain alter-ego, writing from, as they say, below the belt.* Gawker acknowledged its loss with an affectionate post on Friday, complete with almost 300 comments (from commenters who have apparently commenced muffling the drums and stopping the clocks). As Gawker overlord Nick Denton said via IM: "I told Balk he'd always have a home back at Gawker." Aw.
Balk's announcement is the latest in a recent new-media shuffle between the world of blogs, newspapers and magazines: Shafrir moved to the Observer (from whence Sicha came, after leaving Gawker the first time), and Radar reporter Jeff Bercovici moved to Portfolio to helm their media blog. Shnayerson comes from the business side at the Village Voice, where she was the paper's spokeswoman, and former New York Daily Newser Chris Rovzar recently joined New York magazine as "Daily Intel" editor, replacing former Gawker editor Jesse Oxfeld. Meanwhile, Balk's former co-editor at Gawker, Jessica Coen, recently moved to New York as online editor — the same job that Balk will have at Radar. Coen left her position as deputy online editor at Vanity Fair — where she went after Gawker, joining her other former co-editor Oxfeld, whom Balk replaced in July 2006. Oxfeld remains at New York, having moved from online to the magazine.
What this means: New media skills remain important — and marketable — as magazines ramp up their online presences, and the skill set honed while blogging professionally (HTML, image upload and layout, video, writing on the fly, turning a pithy phrase) becomes essential to keeping a site ahead of the curve. It also means the distinction between the MSM and online continues to blur as people move freely between platforms; print is no longer the be-all end-all destination.
Gawker has not yet lined up a replacement for Balk, though we hear that it may include a reshuffling of editorial talent inside Gawker Media; our money is on Wonkette's Alex Pareene, who has guest-edited at Gawker previously (which would make him a twenty-one yaer old Wonkette dropout, we suppose). Either way, best of luck to Balk, and Gawker, and Radar while we're at it — which, thanks to their new hire, now needs less of it.
*I may be biased because he is my friend and also because of his focus on, er — oh, let's let Howie Kurtz explain it
**Photo not of Alex Balk, because he gets very pouty when you post his photo online. Seriously. We could have grabbed his Facebook photo but honestly, it just wasn't worth it.
***We've just been corrected: Apparently Alex will be the Ben Williams of Radar, which isn't nearly as fun a headline, so we're just leaving things the way they are. Besides, it's more the spirit rather than the letter of the law we're going for here. Apologies for any aspersions cast.