io9is a sub-blog of the technology blogGizmodothat focuses onscience fictionandfantasypop culture, with former focuses on science, technology andfuturism.It was created as a standaloneblogin 2008 by editorAnnalee NewitzunderGawker Media.[1]In 2015,io9became a part ofGizmodoas part of a reorganization under parent company Gawker.[2]
 | |
Type of site | Blog |
|---|---|
| Owner | G/O Media |
| URL | gizmodo |
| Launched | January 2, 2008 |
| Current status | Active |
History
editIndependent Site (2008-2015)
editThe blog was created in 2008 byAnnalee NewitzunderGawker Media.Newitz had been approached by Gawker shortly after another of Newitz's projects,other magazine,ceased print publication—and was asked to start a science and science-fiction blog.[3]Staff at founding includedCharlie Jane Anders,Geoff Manaugh (BLDGBLOG), Graeme McMillan (Newsarama), Kevin Kelly (Joystiq, Cinematical) and feminist retro-futuristic writer Lynn Peril (author ofPink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons).[1]Newitz described the ethos of the site as about looking into the future and science fiction.[1]
In February 2010, it was named one of the top 30 science blogs by Michael Moran ofThe Times'Eureka Zone blog, who wrote, "Ostensibly a blog for science fiction enthusiasts,io9finds space for pieces on cutting-edge technology, the wilder fringes of astronomy and the more worrying implications ofgrey goo."[4]
After seven years as head editor, in January 2014, Newitz became the new editor atGizmodo,while co-founder Anders remained as editor atio9—as part of a plan by Gawker to integrateio9withGizmodo.io9's 11-member staff joinedGizmodo's 22 person staff, under Newitz's overall supervision. One of the reasons for the merger was to better coordinate content:io9is a science and science fiction blog, whileGizmodois a technology blog, which resulted in what Gawker assessed as roughly a 12% rate of overlapping content.[5]
After a nearly eight-year run, Newitz retired from bothio9and Gizmodo on November 30, 2015, explaining that they had grown to disliking managing both sites at once and having taken them away from their passion of writing articles. Newitz moved to take a position as tech culture editor atArs Technica.Anders remained as head editor ofio9.[6][7]Besides Newitz, several other longtime core staff members left their positions atio9during this transitional period.[8][9]
Sub-blog ofGizmodo(2015 - present)
editOn 26 April 2016, Charlie Jane Anders left the site to focus her attention on her then untitled second novel and Rob Bricken took over as editor.[10]
On July 31, 2018, Rob Bricken stepped down as editor ofio9,saying that managing the site was taking up too much time and he would rather spend writing articles for it.[11]His place as editor was filled by Jill Pantozzi, former editor-in-chief ofThe Mary Sue,who had originally joinedio9as a managing editor[12]and took up the deputy editor position after Bricken's departure.[13][14]
Following the departure of Pantozzi, who left the site entirely in December 2021,[15]James Whitbrook, who had been anio9staff writer since 2014, was made the new Deputy Editor in charge ofio9.[16]
In 2023 io9 was amongst sites owned by G/O Media that published AI written articles to significant backlash. There was internal dissent to this decision, with James Whitbrook publishing a statement denouncing the decision to publish such material.[17]
List of editors
edit| Editor | Tenure | Refs |
|---|---|---|
| Annalee Newitz | 2008 - 2015 | [3] |
| Charlie Jane Anders | 2015 - 2016 | [5] |
| Rob Bricken | 2016 - 2018 | [11] |
| Jill Pantozzi | 2018 - 2021 | [11][16] |
| James Whitbrook | 2021 - present | [16] |
References
edit- ^abcWortham, Jenna (2008-01-02)."Gawker Blasts Into Sci-Fi With New Blog, Io9; a Q&A With Editor Annalee Newitz".Wired.Retrieved2008-06-10.
- ^"io9 to Become Part of Gizmodo".CBR.2015-11-17.Retrieved2021-06-01.
- ^ab"Locus Online".2010-08-11.
- ^Michael Moran.Eureka's Top 30 Science BlogsArchived2010-02-05 at theWayback Machine,Times OnlineEureka Zone blog, Jan 3, 2010
- ^ab"Gawker Media merges Gizmodo and io9, names Annalee Newitz editor".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-05-05.Retrieved2015-11-30.
- ^"I'm Heading Out to the Black. Farewell, io9 and Gizmodo!".Gizmodo.November 30, 2015.
- ^"Brace Yourselves: io9 and Gizmodo Are Now One Epic Website".Gizmodo.December 15, 2015.
- ^"I Live, I Die, I Live Again. Goodbye, io9".Gizmodo.May 28, 2015.
- ^Gonzalez, Lauren Davis and Robbie (August 29, 2015)."My God, It's Full of Stars (And Dogs)".Gizmodo.
- ^"Twitter message".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-08-10.Retrieved2017-12-04.
- ^abc"Fare Thee Well, Space Travelers".Gizmodo.July 31, 2018.
- ^GMG Careers [@GMGCareers] (November 27, 2017)."We are THRILLED to have Jill start today as a Managing Editor on @Gizmodo's @io9! Please welcome @JillPantozzi to the team"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on May 7, 2022.RetrievedDecember 2,2022– viaTwitter.
- ^Pantozzi, Jill [@JillPantozzi] (July 11, 2018)."Some Big News I can finally talk about: I've been promoted at @Gizmodo and as of next month will be Deputy Editor, @io9 and in charge of the site. https://t.co/cTHlLOuveC"(Tweet).Archivedfrom the original on November 15, 2021.RetrievedDecember 2,2022– viaTwitter.
- ^"Jill Pantozzi: With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility".2 December 2019.
- ^"Intellect and Romance over Brute Force and Cynicism".4 December 2021.
- ^abc"A Message from Your New Editor".6 December 2021.
- ^Spangler, Todd (2023-07-05)."Gizmodo's io9 Published an AI-Generated Star Wars Article That Was Filled With Errors".Variety.Retrieved2023-12-24.
