| By Ray Wert Say Hello To Autoblognik And Goodbye To Me
The site will not only get a new leader, who I'm sure will be announced in good time, but also a new look and a new name in about half an hour — to go along with its new role as the uber-brand for Autoblog, AOL Autos, and everything else automotive under Tim Armstrong and Ariana Huffington's commoditized SEO-centric sun. That new name is Autoblognik. Gone will be the "awesome" that I pushed for during my three years running the site, and five years in total at Gawker Media. Gone will be the content I fought so hard to protect. Gone will be the foul language. Gone will be the big, splashy features that we became known for. Gone even will be the old URL. Soon, anyway. But look, don't worry, not everything is gone. The rest of the staff is sticking around and I know you'll be in good hands. Well, until they replace them all with SEO-bots anyway. Either way, although I'm sorry for the abrupt departure, but there's no reversing course here without some kind of serious change in ownership. So, you know, so long, and thanks for all the fish.
| April 1st, 2011 Top Stories |
Three weeks ago, members of our staff were approached to run a combined Autoblog and AOL Autos under the umbrella of The Huffington Post. All staff approached declined. Undaunted, the media moguls behind such world-beaters as Luxist, KitchenDaily and commoditized dial-up internet access found a way around Jalopnik editors. They simply bought us from a redesign-ravaged Gawker Media. And that's why I'm resigning, effective immediately.
