Jezebel Shakeup: Deputy Editor Dodai Stewart Leaving Gawker Media, Will Join Anna Holmes At Fusion

Updated Friday, 4:08 p.m. EDT:

Dodai Stewart posted a goodbye letter at Jezebel: “The journey these last seven years has, without question, been a transformative experience. Jezebel has literally changed my life.” Read the full post here.

Original Post:

Continuing the exodus at Gawker Media’s Jezebel, deputy editor Dodai Stewart is leaving the feminist website for Fusion, where she will be director of culture coverage. Jane Spencer, Fusion’s digital editor-in-chief, announced the move Friday in a letter to staffers posted on Twitter by BuzzFeed reporter Myles Tanzer.

The move follows news in July that the Hairpin’s Emma Carmichael would replace Jezebel’s Jessica Coen as editor-in-chief. Stewart, who began at Jezebel in 2007 shortly after its founding, was assumed to be the obvious replacement for Coen. As Capital New York reported at the time, some staffers were disappointed Stewart was passed over, as was Stewart herself.

Fusion Media Network, which launched last year, includes the culture and lifestyle website Fusion.net, and is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Co.’s ABC Television Group and Univision Communications Inc. In moving to the company, Stewart joins Jezebel’s founding editor, Anna Holmes, who became Fusion’s digital voices editor in May, as Re/code reported then.

Another Jezebel writer, Lindy West, announced in September she would be leaving the site to work on personal projects. Tracie Egan Morrissey, a features editor, and Callie Beusman, an editorial assistant, both left in September to join Vice Media, Capital New York said.

Gawker Media became embroiled in controversy in August when Coen posted an open letter criticizing the company’s management for not responding quickly enough when Internet trolls posted graphic and sometimes violent “rape gifs” on Jezebel through its Kinja commenting system. Gawker’s editorial director, Joel Johnson, pledged to address the problem after the post went viral.

In her memo Friday, Spencer said Dodai is known for her “smart, irreverent, and often hilarious takes on pop culture, women’s issues and race. She’ll bring her tremendous creativity and wit to Fusion, as she heads up our coverage of entertainment, fashion, and the arts.”

Dodai tweeted Friday she is working on securing a new Twitter handle -- one that doesn’t incude the word “Jezebel.”

Read the full memo below.