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 ...

, a media gossip

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), 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 ...

. 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 n ...

'', 30 March 2017

Early life and education

Spiers was born in Wetumpka, Alabama, 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 Jam ...

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 ...

, 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 ( ...

'', ''

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 ...

mediabistro.com 'Mediabistro'' is a website that offers career and job search resources for media professionals. It publishes various blogs which analyze the mass media industry, including the film and the publishing industries. It also provides job listings, ...

, 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 ...

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 priv ...

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,

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 o ...

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. Histo ...

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