Hello and welcome to episode 35 of Diversity Hire.

Today’s guest was Tommy Craggs, and we had a rollicking conversation about an era of media we are still trying to understand: the reign of Gawker. We dove into Tommy’s time as the editor Deadspin and later the executive editor of Gakwer and what both of those sites contributed to what we now call THE DISCOURSE. We also talked about the halcyon days of NY media, why blogging sucks, arbiters of bad faith and the climate around cultural politics, and finally a question I’m sure you guys have been thinking about for ages: What even is journalism?

Kevin and Arjun also talked about Ben Smith’s EXPOSÉ of the downtown scene and the difference between scolding and clowning people.

Thanks for listening.

Articles:

What’s the Matter With Cultural Politics? (written 1 month after the 2020 election)

This Election Was About the Issues (written 2 days before the 2016 election)

Journalistic standards in reporting of the Te’o hoax: Q&A with Deadspin’s Tommy Craggs

An Exclusive Interview With Tommy Craggs About The Bill Simmons "Grantland" Project

gawker-editors-resign-over-articles-removal.html">2 Gawker Editors Resign Over Article’s Removal

The Sideshow

Dark Side Of The Locker Room: Stephon Marbury Is Puzzled By My Godlessness

We’re gonna skip doing timecodes this week because I (Arjun) just got back from Rhodora and am a bit too tipsy to find the topics in the episode. Maybe I’ll edit it tomorrow. Maybe not. Let us know if the timecodes are useful.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit diversityhire.substack.com