Wired In Smash Grab Kotaku Editor Raid Shock
No, really! We heard about this on the grapevine last week, but apparently, it's all kinda 'official' - Wired News' Chris 'Cholera' Kohler has revealed an editor kidnapping of sorts.
He explains: "You might have noticed that five minutes ago, Eliza Gauger -- ex. of Kotaku, now of Wired's very own Game|Life -- made her inaugural posting. She'll be writing mainly on virtual worlds, MMOs, and fat British kids. Take a moment to welcome her to the team."
Not only that, but a team of hardened ex-Kotaku-ites such as Joel Johnson look to be expanding the Wired tech blogs in a hardcore manner, apparently to become third in an unholy semi-journalist (joke!) triumvirate that also includes Gawker Media and Weblogs Inc./AOL. We're pretty sure this also involves the pyramid and eye on U.S. currency, and Leonardo Da Vinci drawings.
Part of this Conde Nast-ified guerrilla attack squad is now 'the artist formerly known as Florian Eckhardt', another Kotaku mainstay who is now blogging under his real name (!) at Wired News blog 'Table Of Malcontents'. Apparently, he was doing double duty at Consumerist all the way through his Kotaku stint. Oh, Florian, how could you cheat on us like this? We feel violated.
Still, as Eliza points out tartly: "What, you thought Florian was his real name?" Well, yeah, kinda, we forgot you don't have to sign your real name on the Internet! Eckhardt's goodbye message was buried in a Kotaku post last week: "Thanks for not disemboweling me when I, oh, suggested we nuke the Japanese to 'fix' whatever causes them to put used panty vending machines in airport bathrooms, or remarked that sometimes women just needed a little slap to keep them in line, or told Bruce Shelley I hated his games, or made an ass out of myself when I drunkenly approached Will Wright at a party." So no trolling there, then!
Comments
Crap. Does that mean I can expect to see their brand of cheap rumor-mongering all over the web now? Is Wired goign to start posting doctored photos from WoW: Burning Crusade too?
Kotaku is the single worst gaming news site on the Internet, and a debasement of the already pathetic standards of "gaming journalism". I'm surprised and disgusted any of it's editors can even find jobs.
Posted by: J Arcane | November 6, 2006 3:38 PM
FWIW, I think Eliza is pretty smart, and I don't think she'll have any trouble fitting in at Wired News. 'Florian', too, is a clever guy, but just a tad too troll-like for my liking - horses for courses, though!
I'm not sure I entirely get the Kotaku antipathy. They're a bit wacky at times, but generally fairly readable. Again, YMMV!
Posted by: simonc | November 6, 2006 3:40 PM
The Kotaku viruses are spreading and infecting good, sensible gaming sites :(
Posted by: Thomas | November 6, 2006 4:27 PM
I agree with J. Arcane.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 6, 2006 4:41 PM
I respect you amiable attitude Simon, but it lamost pains me to see one of the writers for the best damn gaming blog on the internet speak so glowingly about anyone from Kotaku. ;)
I've respected GSW for sometime now, and I especially like how you have on occasion stood up and been willing to call out another site for atrocious journalism.
So I'm a bit surprised by your response.
I wasn't joking when I made that comment about the doctored WoW photos.
Posted by: J Arcane | November 6, 2006 6:09 PM
Well, I haven't seen the doctored photos of the Worlds of the Craft Of War. Maybe that would change my mind completely!
Posted by: simonc | November 6, 2006 7:26 PM
Why all the hate on Kotaku, some of the writers like Ashcraft and Eliza Gauger are pretty good. It's great to see they're spreading out. On the plus side for Kotaku maybe their new writers will bring a diverse cloud of stories.
Posted by: djera | November 6, 2006 8:21 PM
Why do I dislike kotaku? They are terrible "journalists". Every article must be an alarmist/sensationalized story. But they have half of an excuse, they write for Gawker. The worst "let's get rich on a trend and call it journalism" company on the net. Gawker is the lowest on the blogging ladder, peroid.
Posted by: d | November 6, 2006 9:19 PM
HOW IS THIS NEWS?!
Links to doctored photos, please.
Posted by: Eliza Gauger | November 8, 2006 12:28 AM
File under, "Who Cares?!?"
Posted by: Matt | November 8, 2006 7:15 AM
Demand for proof followed by utter silence. Nice. :)
Posted by: crecente | January 2, 2007 3:10 PM