Wonkette’s Jim Newell to Replace Alex Pareene at Gawker

Strikingly redheaded Jim Newell, editor at politics/comedy blog Wonkette, is leaving to join Gawker. Newell announced the move in a blog post last night:

Yes, it’s true. After replacing Alex Pareene at Wonkette in 2007, I will now replace… Alex Pareene… at Gawker’s politics slot, which he left very recently. As long as I keep blatantly copying his style, I should have steady employment for life, as he is very talented.

Pareene left Gawker for Salon in April. Newell’s departure follows that of editor Juli Weiner, who went to Vanity Fair‘s VF Daily blog in February. Fellow editor Sara K. Smith also left recently, due to motherhood.

With Newell gone, Wonkette is even more of a bare-bones operation than is typical. Head editor Ken Layne and several contributors are the only ones minding the store. So maybe look for them to hire someone new!

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