Owen Thomas, who has run the Silicon Valley gossip rag Valleywag for the past couple years, is leaving Gawker, the site’s parent company, we’ve learned. This move is a bad blow for the site which significantly cut its workforce a few months ago as it was rolled under the larger Gawker.com umbrella, and made into a column.
Thomas, who was previously an editor with Business 2.0, was brought in to run Valleywag in June 2007, replacing the head of Gawker Media, Nick Denton. Denton’s run as the editor of Valleywag came only after he fired Nick Douglas from the same job.
We hear Thomas is going to work for NBC on some kind of site which may or may not be centered around the Valley as well. [Update below, Denton has confirmed Owen's NBC gig.]
We’ve just contacted Thomas who declined to comment at this time.
Update: Gabriel Synder, the editor of Gawker, has confirmed the news and had this to say:
While I’m sorry to see Owen leave, I’m still committed to keeping Valleywag going as Gawker’s tech column.
Snyder continued that while he couldn’t say who will be brought in to replace Thomas, there will be a new editor of Valleywag and the site will definitely not be shuttered.
“Owen’s been great through this entire transition and has set the template for how coverage of the tech beat can fit into Gawker,” Snyder went on to say.
Update 2: Here’s Gawker founder Nick Denton on the move:
Owen has a reputation as a fearsome gossip writer. What’s less known is his penchant for management. It sounds like this NBC job will give him the responsibility he’s been craving — and take him out of the Valleywag firing line! We’re replacing him internally. More on that later.
NBC may be building out a bunch of local sites, Denton says, which Thomas would be a part of.
Denton went on to say that Gawker’s Q1 revenue numbers have been strong, up 27% from the year ago period. Of Valleywag specifically, he would only say that it’s sold under Gawker.com, so it’s not separated out for things like ad sales anymore, apparently. Gawker is down from 15 to 9 sites now after it shed a bunch last year, but he says the majority of the revenue came from those 9 sites anyway. He adds that they’ve been growing, even during the downturn.
Update 3: Gawker has just confirmed that the new editor of Valleywag will be Ryan Tate (pictured, right). Tate had been serving as Gawker’s night editor, as well as contributing some of his work to Valleywag. Gawker is now seeking a night editor to replace him.
Update 4: Beet.TV’s Andy Plesser has the story on Thomas’ new gig. Apparently, he’ll be the managing editor of NBC Bay Area, a news site focused just on the Bay Area that is in beta right now. As Plesser notes, this will make Thomas an employee of GE (which owns NBC).
[Owen Thomas photograph by Benjamin Tice Smith]
Hey, thanks for making me click through to read “More to come…” Very helpful
If that photo could throw confetti and scream “Mrs. Carmichael” —it would.
It’s THAT gay.
Not that there is anything wrong…
LOL, I spit beer on my laptop
As of today, May 11th, Owen remains at Valleywag. Just as MG Siegler’s name remains on the masthead of Venturebeat.
Yet two stories to the contrary appear in Techcrunch.
I’d love an explanation that makes sense, please…
Not a fan of Owen, stopped reading valleywag after the layoffs.
I like Owen a lot, but who reads Valleywag since the Gawker merger?
Hoping he moves onto something fab, Owen totally deserves it.
I heart Owen. He’s a very talented writer. I hope he finds something good.
He’s definitely doing something with NBC, something in the Valley. Hopefully he’ll choose to divulge more soon
Nice spin on a story of a fat loser who was being paid by his child-molester boss in ice cream.
Apparently, she has had her fill and now is filing for unemployment.
Bye fella!
Hmmm…
http://twitter....atus/1402206843
I wonder.
Loath and detest Thomas. Surprised that he’s still employable. Heard he’s been looking for a new gig for months and even applied to be in PR at Tesla, but was rejected.
Valleywag won’t be the same without Owen. it might be just a gossip rag but Owen did some good work and broke a lot of news despite how pointless a web celebrity gossip blog is in concept.
I admit. I was entertained.
hilariously enough, techcrunch FINALLY links valleywag.
way to go boys, way to go…
@”Nick’
I know who you are.
finally the dog will stop barking.
i have always been a fan of owen . wish him the best even thou i do think he did give me a warning once or someone there did. valleywag wont be the same no one attacks with such humor as owen. i do wish they would bring back the caption contest. i have no idea why they stop doing that.
Sorry guys, but it is WAY too late for anyone to out Owen.
Owen was not just a gossip writer, but a superb analyst when he buckled down to real, well, analysis.
I loved Owen;s sense of sarcasm and humor
Hes got the talent to make ppl laugh .. hope he can continue to do the same in whatever medium it may be
Owen Thomas is a tremendous talent. Glad to hear he’s on to something bigger and better, but I hope NBC doesn’t water him down.
Owen, straight no chaser, ouch.
this comment thread reads like an obit. he’s not dead, he’s just moved on to irrelevant media.
actually i liked Owen a lot when he was at Business 2.0, but he got mean at Valleywag, taking shots that were not right.
i hope now that he’s out of the employ of the prince of darkness, he lightens up
ummm, going to a digital media job at nbcu (that’s not hulu) is like dying!
i’m hearing that NBC is going to build a hyperlocal news site focused on the bay area. if so, that could be a good opportunity for Owen. but i still think he needs to lighten up and unlearn some things he learned from the prince of darkness
Hyperlocal will win. People want to be insularly informed. It’s tribal.
Since when is Valleywag relevant media?
Rich, a blogger who works in a nasty little corner of a failed industry calling NBC irrelevant media.
Oh well, I guess thinking you’re a big star helps you feel better when you curl up on that big fat pile of money you’ve collected from idiot pension funds and other half-wit institutions over the years.
At least Owen entertained us.
Agree with Fred. I used to be a loyal reader, but he seemed to enjoy people losing their jobs. Humor is great, but slumming for page views by making fun of people’s misfortune is pretty ugly.
A load of Owen hate in the comments here:
http://www.thea...aving-valleywag
You want real hate jackass? Talk to anyone who has ever reported to you, ever, asshole.
Go crawl back to that hole of yours in Marin “Nick.”
This guy is a despicable person. 100% douchebag. Just look at that photo. But it’s the person underneath that is really ugly.
Goof for him. I agree with many comments that Owen is an extremely talented writer.
And, yes, would have been a great addition to TC. But, the sausage quarrel between Owen and Mike would be tough to overcome.
i love how when people trash me for months or years on their blog and I never respond turns into “those two have a problem with each other.”
somehow people think its ok if its a two way feud and put it in their mind that way to be comfortable. But that wasn’t the case. valleywag made silicon valley a much less interesting place to hang out.
come again?
TC should do story on “where are they now” former Valleywag loser staff.
Owen Thomas: giving blood for foodstamps.
Alaska Miller: Donated Liver for flamboyant hat.
Paul Whatshisface: Public Affairs VP–NAMBLA
But Nick Denton should be idenfied, tasered, and tagged—so that the entire world know her whereabouts at all times.
Scientists could study his soft, flabby “loser gene”.
Denton: You suck. Yeah, I know, by choice.
@”Nick Denton’
Listen you narcissistic dullard, the fact that people hate Owen means he did his job.
You think the folks in the South like Sherman after he burned down Atlanta?
No, but that’s the job description, and Owen nailed it.
Of course after your long strong of failures you wouldn’t know success if it cock slapped you in that boomer face of yours would you, you miserable insect.
Thanks for the Valleywag tutoral, fella. Not that anyone above the age of seven asked for it.
Owen was paid in ice cream. He ate his fill and now is looking for a real job that pays actual money.
Upon discovery, I found ValleyWag amusing; however, the world can take only so much gossip and rumor. It quickly wore thin. It’s reader base has never been loyal, but people glancing upon gossip when profoundly bored.
This is a great lose to Valleywag.I have contact Owen for many times on the tech news.He is the most talent reporter I ever know.
Looking forward to work with you again,Owen.
Do Email me,when you start you new career.
-Snake Chen from NetEase Technology News China
Is it me, or is Nick Denton THE most unattractive gay man in North America and Europe—at the same time.
Two words, Nicky Boy: DENTAL PLAN.
What a pathetic loser.
Reading this, Nick? Bring Jackson West back. Please. Let him run VW. How anyone could let him go is beyond me.
Bye, Owen.