It's the kind of corporate move that Gawker, the popular New York media-and-celebrities blog, would ruthlessly chronicle: An up-and-coming new-media company closes some properties and shuffles its staff. Except that the up-and-comer in question is blog publisher Gawker Media itself. Former Financial Times journalist turned Internet entrepreneur Nick Denton, who started Gawker in 2002, explained the move on his weblog. He's putting Sploid, a tabloid-news blog, and Screenhead, a collection of Internet video clips, up for sale -- or closing them if a buyer doesn't materialize. He has also fired an editor at flagship blog Gawker and reshuffled his staff of bloggers.

Has Denton turned bearish on blogging? Sploid, one of the titles due to be sold or closed, posted an item about double-digit traffic declines at popular blogs. But Denton himself says he's just preparing for a possible downturn: "Advertising is a fickle thing. Particularly the entertainment advertising upon which so many websites depend." And Gawker Media is planning to launch a music blog, according to a leaked email from managing editor Lockhart Steele.