![Elizabeth Spiers, 2003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Elizabeth_Spiers%2C_2003.jpg)
Elizabeth Spiers (born December 11, 1976) is an American web publisher and journalist, the founding editor of
Gawker
''Gawker'' is an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers and based in New York City focusing on celebrities and the media industry. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month as of 2015. Founded in ...
, a media gossip
blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
.
From February 2011 until August 2012 she was the editor of ''
The New York Observer
''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper printed from 1987 to 2016, when it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainmen ...
''.
["I worked for Jared Kushner. He's the wrong businessman to reinvent government."]
by Elizabeth Spiers, ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', 30 March 2017
Early life and education
Spiers was born in
Wetumpka, Alabama
Wetumpka () is a city in and the county seat of Elmore County, Alabama, Elmore County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 7,220. In the early 21st century Elmore County became one of the f ...
, and attended local schools. After graduating from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
in 1999 with a degree in
public policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
, Spiers headed to Wall Street to work in finance, but soon became involved in the fast-growing blog industry.
Career
Spiers started to work in journalism as the founding editor of Gawker.com and later became a contributing writer and editor at ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' magazine. She has written for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
'', ''
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'', ''
Fast Company
''Fast Company'' is a monthly American business magazine published in print and online that focuses on technology, business, and design. It publishes six print issues per year.
History
''Fast Company'' was launched in November 1995 by Alan Web ...
'' and ''The New York Post'', among other publications.
She worked briefly after that as the
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
of
mediabistro.com, a site offering resources for media professionals. Since then, Spiers has founded a number of blog sites through her company, Dead Horse Media (as in the proverb "don't beat a dead horse"). ''The New York Times''
DealBook
Andrew Ross Sorkin (born February 19, 1977) is an American journalist and author. He is a financial columnist for ''The New York Times'' and a co-anchor of CNBC's ''Squawk Box.'' He is also the founder and editor of DealBook, a financial news s ...
wrote of her in 2006, "It is clear that an online empire is on Elizabeth Spiers's mind." Dead Horse Media has produced ''Dealbreaker'', a gossip website about Wall Street; ''
AbovetheLaw'', a blog about law; ''
Fashionista
Fashionista or fashionistas may also refer to:
*Fashionista, an avid leader and follower of fashion
* Fashionista (website), a website about fashion
Entertainment
* ''Fashionista'' (TV series), an Australian TV series
* "Fashionista", a song by ...
'', a gossip site about fashion; and Supermogul, a now defunct business management site. Spiers left Dead Horse Media abruptly on April 19, 2007, citing differences with her partners over launching new properties, according to ''
BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
''.
Jared Kushner
Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...
hired Spiers as the editor of ''The New York Observer'' in February 2011. She resigned from the paper in August 2012.
Spiers was the editorial director of ''
Flavorpill'' from 2012 to 2016.
Spiers has been a guest speaker at various media and technology conferences. She has also been a guest commentator for
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
,
MarketWatch
MarketWatch is a website that provides financial information, business news, analysis, and stock market data. Along with ''The Wall Street Journal'' and ''Barron's'', it is a subsidiary of Dow Jones & Company, a property of News Corp.
Histor ...
,
MSNBC
MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
and
VH1.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spiers, Elizabeth
American women journalists
American online publication editors
1976 births
Living people
Sanford School of Public Policy alumni
People from Wetumpka, Alabama
American bloggers
Editors of New York City newspapers
Journalists from Alabama
Journalists from New York City
21st-century American non-fiction writers
Women newspaper editors
American women bloggers
21st-century American women writers