Valleywag Release Candidate 2

Some changes, today, on Valleywag, in design, personnel, and mission. Obviously, there's a new design. Nick Douglas, editor since launch earlier this year, is leaving. And we're going to change the mix of stories, slightly.

1. Design. The original, to be frank, was one of Gawker Media's weakest. We've been wanting to change it for a while. Hence the redesign. As usual, there are some first-day glitches. If something's not working for you, please email us, and make sure you note your OS and browser, so we can track down the problem. You can also tell us that the old design was just fine, and why did we screw up something so perfect. But, let's be honest here, we're not going back.

2. Personnel. Nick Douglas, the kid we plucked from college to launch Valleywag, will be a great journalist. And we will look stupid for letting him go. (To reach Nick Douglas, send email to popsnap at gmail dot com.) But, to helm the site, we're now looking for someone with, ideally, some background in reporting. An old-media career, useful in the sparkling new world of blogs. Who would have thought? We're also in the market for a junior writer, who could be anyone from purebred blogger to frustrated publicist. Expressions of interest, or leads, to denton@valleywag.com, please. Oh, yes, I forgot to say, I'm Nick Denton, and I'm standing in on Valleywag till we find a permanent replacement. This is the beat I covered at my last gig as a reporter. Okay, so I was bored running a business.

3. Mission. We're still going to break open secrets, like the fact that Google's most prominent female executive dated Larry Page, the co-founder, the story that Valleywag launched with. It's ludicrous that information like that should be common knowledge in Silicon Valley, and yet too hot to touch by the tech industry's supine press corps. However, I suspect we're going to tone down the personal coverage of civilians, because they haven't done anything to seek out attention, and their personal lives aren't that interesting. Unless they are. Anyway, more money, a little less sex: that is Valleywag's new gossip mantra.

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