Results tagged “marklisanti”

Say goodbye to Hollywood, baby. Defamer, the loved--but not loved enough--celebrity gossip blog has been folded into its parent blog, Gawker.

Photo by Tha_Sco via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr

Today it became official. Mark Lisanti, the Editor of Defamer since mid-2004, is done as of this Friday:

Of the 9 or 10,000 posts I've done since we started this site, this one is the hardest to write. After almost four years here at Defamer, I've decided it's finally time to move on. In an effort to keep this short and sweet, I'll be climbing out of the blogging hamster-wheel this Friday, and though I wish I had exciting news about where my next paycheck will be coming from (or some great story about why I'm leaving other than "it's time"), I'll probably just be taking a little hiatus to figure out what's next and work on some projects I haven't had the time or energy for...

Defamer has become one of the best, if not the best, Hollywood gossip blogs out there. Combining local Los Angeles news and events mixed with Britarazzi and Posh, Lisanti has caught the eyes of both the media and Hollywood (most noted in our pop culture minds, the blog was scripted as breaking gossip news on HBO's Entourage in an episode). Los Angeles magazine profiled Lisanti and Defamer back in 2005 as "the most influential and intimidating gossip" blog (all coming from " a two-bedroom unit of a nondescript apartment complex in Los Feliz").

Last night, Zócalo L.A. hosted a panel discussion at the Central Library to explore the question, “Who Really Runs L.A.?” The discussion, moderated by Mariel Garza of the Los Angeles Daily News, featured panelists Kerman Maddox, who works for public affairs consulting firm Dakota Communications; L.A. Weekly city hall reporter David Zahniser; political scientist and Director of Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A. Jaime Regalado; and Los Angeles Magazine writer...

Hmmm, what better day to start what will probably become our weekly look around the local blog soap operas than the morning after The Huffington Post/Yahoo!/Gawker Media love fest that was billed as a night celebrating Defamer's Mark Lisanti but really was to celebrate and launch the syndication agreements between the three parties. While we generally hovered next to the go fug girls, the Mister Zero you don't want to !@$* with, Defamer's Employee of the Month and Marissa of Terra Non Firma, we did spend a little time with the boys of Martini Republic and several Yahoo! content kids who are transitioning from the bay area to the West side and were very serious about getting some In-N-Out burgers before heading back to the Viceroy for the after party.

Mark Lisanti might get the headlines but it is that other local blogebrity that gets the ladies. Tony Pierce, who we interviewed in January, is celebrating the fourth anniversary of his bus blog today.

Where did July go? The end of the month snuck up on us today and so here we are working and reflecting. LAist had its one year anniversary early in July but we're just getting around to celebrating it this week. Thursday, in fact. Details to come as we get even closer to the date. Today, we want to point you towards our new rss feed (and if you scroll down the homepage, you'll find some handy dandy buttons for adding LAist to your favorite rss reader), the mobile version of the site and our updated about page complete with a brand new FAQ.

A year ago today, a barely beta-tested LAist was born. The cast of three who primarily kept it running—two of which are still on staff—had spent a month planning and writing, trying to keep abreast of topics and issues that would interest Angelenos. We wanted to focus on the things that make LA a viable, vibrant place to live; the odds and ends that are often glossed over on the way to covering the bright star of Hollywood.

During the months since Defamer launched in May last year, the Hollywood outpost of the Gawker blog dominion got under the collective skin of Hollywood faster than the hands of an agent under a willing starlet’s skirt. This formerly anonymous, always smooth operator has proven that equal opportunity offending makes openly credited blogging a safe enterprise.

The sun is back out which means that new parties are on the horizon. Few tonight, mind, but we promise to get back in the know on where all the cool kids are kicking back drinks and silently judging you from starting tomorrow with a possible chance to hang out with NBA phenom LeBron James after the Cleveland Cavaliers battle your Los Angeles Lakers.

If you haven't heard by now, LA.com has posted an item about the identity of the author of "The Defamer" website. Alexandra posted an item this morning that the December issue of Esquire magazine has identified Defamer as Mark Lisanti (whose surname the magazine misspelled as Listani). Was the misspelling deliberate misdirection?