Susie Banikarim has been named editorial director of Gizmodo Media Group, where she will oversee a network of sites that encompasses Gizmodo, Deadspin, Jezebel, Jalopnik, Kotaku, Lifehacker, Splinter and The Root.
“This is an important moment in media — and history — and the value of journalism that speaks directly to a diverse set of communities while holding the powerful to account, challenging the status quo and exposing hypocrisy cannot be overstated,” Banikarim said.
Banikarim was, until January, the chief content officer of Vocativ, the digital media company that pivoted to video earlier this summer. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, Banikarim was a deputy director of editorial of Newsweek/The Daily Beast in 2012, where she also led the company’s video efforts. Prior to that, she worked as a producer at ABC News.
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“Her proven journalism credentials, her expertise in multimedia storytelling, her well-known track record of mentoring talent, and her passion and enthusiasm for our sites made her a clear choice for this critical role,” Gizmodo Media Group chief executive officer Raju Narisetti said in an announcement of the hire. “In the many conversations many of us had with her, it was very apparent that Susie will strengthen and reinforce our newsroom and its ethos, while finding smart ways to get our journalism — be it blogs, podcasts, video, television shows — in front of more audiences across more platforms.”
Gizmodo Media Group, which was acquired by parent company Univision for $135 million last fall after the network of web sites formerly known as Gawker Media Group declared bankruptcy as a result of losing a tumultuous privacy lawsuit brought by Hulk Hogan over a 2012 sex tape, has gone through a period of adjustment under its new ownership — including allegations from within the company that there was a lack of women in top-level roles.
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