Bail out: John Davison leaving Ziff Davis Media to start a new website [Update

Bail out: John Davison leaving Ziff Davis Media to start a new website [Update - 1UP confirms]

by Christopher Grant { Aug 22nd 2007 at 10:43PM }

Senior vice president of the Game Group and mastermind of the 1UP Network, John Davison, will soon be leaving Ziff Davis Media. A move that, while shocking, isn't entirely unexpected considering the media giant's struggles as of late. Davison doesn't plan on leaving the industry behind, however, as our sources indicate he is starting a new family entertainment site geared towards parents.

The sinking ship that makes up Ziff Davis will actually be two lighter, as Ira Becker will be joining Davison in his new venture. The name may not ring a bell to most (Becker was not a part of the editorial process), but Becker is the executive vice president of the Game Group and with Davison, they represented the two key elements of power. Below them are the editors-in-chief of the respective Ziff brands – EGM, GFW Magazine, and 1UP.com – though none seem particularly groomed for the task.

This is yet another huge loss for the Game Group, having lost their prized news editor Luke Smith to Bungie Studios back in April. We sincerely wish John Davison and his crew the best of luck with their new project.

[Update - 1UP has confirmed this story, also noting that the original cast of 1UP Yours will be reunited for a podcast special at Penny-Arcade Expo this weekend. Attend it!]

Tags: breakingnews, irabecker, johndavison, ziffdavismedia

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Matias @ Aug 22nd 2007 10:48PM

Where the fuck is your source?

matt @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:11PM

I concur, where is the source for your wild claims?

copa @ Aug 22nd 2007 10:58PM

I'm not up for browsing the Ziff-David org chart; who are the two respective editors-in-chief?

copa @ Aug 22nd 2007 10:58PM

I'm not up for browsing the Ziff-David org chart; who are the two respective editors-in-chief?

copa @ Aug 22nd 2007 10:59PM

I always swore I'd put a bullet in my head if I ever became one of those double-posting ass-clowns.

Goodbye cruel world...

Matthew Moore @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:04PM

I hope John does well at his new site. Now 1up yours is going to be crap... shane + garnet :(

Miles @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:10PM

Shane is enough for it to be crap. God I can't stand his doom and gloom mentality.

Patrick @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:48PM

"and you see the playstation 3 will suceed because IT doesn't have any games." thats the kind of fucked up thinking and fanboyism shane shows

Harbl @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:07AM

Shane's a horrible fanboy, but he is damned smart about all things video games. When Luke was there, his Xbox fanboyism balanced it nicely. I think Shane's really funny and he hasn't been loving on the PS3 as much as he used to.

ca1amity @ Aug 24th 2007 9:13AM

Well shit... 1UP network takes another hit, Ziff Davis takes another step towards total failure in the games market and all of us lose for not having John around to cover broader gaming and chair one of the best podcasts out there

AMartins529 @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:21PM

I concur on the 1Up Yours front. John was the last one really holding it down. Where am I going to get my british fix at 1up?! Now it's just Jim Sterling at DToid and he's not on the Podtoid all the time.

Good luck, John. You'll be missed.

thepeak @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:16PM

I am curious about the source of the story as well.

1Up Yours was/is my favorite gaming podcast, but without Luke and now John, I can't imagine the quality will maintain. I think 1Up needs to be sold in order to remain viable, that will not happen with the print division intact. I'd hate to see the good GFW and EGM editors and journalist loose their jobs, however, it seems that the writing is on the wall.

BlueNocturne @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:22PM

Luke Smith was prized? Ha!

john @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:39PM

He was definitely prized. Although he could be obnoxious and immature, he was always engaging and quick on his feet. He would have been a prize for any media company. Bungie was lucky to get him.

Spirit-of @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:26PM

John's always been the voice of logic, reason, and the voice I've always felt reflected my own on 1up Yours. This is a really serious blow for me, much more than Luke "Bubble Boy" Smith.

Good luck to John, but damned if 1up Yours isn't going to stink now.

T! @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:27PM

Well with Che who went to Turn 10 Studios, Kimi who went to Ubisoft and Luke going Bungie I say whos next.

john @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:32PM

Yikes. First Luke and then John. 1up used to be one of my favorite podcasts because of those two. Luke could be obnoxious at times, but they could both talk intelligently about the industry without being boring.

I know Ziff is trying to sell off their gaming publications, and they just recently reconsidered their bundling of the print and online devisions. It looks like they waited too long, and the smart employees have jumped at more lucrative opportunities.

I hope to hear more about John's new venture soon. A family gaming site sounds like the perfect project for him. He was a great example of a responsible gaming dad. He would talk now and then about trying to find games that were interesting enough for him to play with his kids, while remaining age appropriate (not easy on the 360/PS3... I think he recommended Pixar's Cars...).

Good Luck.

Jack @ Aug 22nd 2007 11:44PM

This sucks big time John was the voice of reason on 1up yours, now all we will have is Garnett and Shane fighting with each other.

Phillip @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:03AM

Good grief! What's with the, " where the is your source, you !"

We get it. There isn't a source. I'm sure they'll fix it. Get over it. Go to bed. Get some sleep. ...Calm Down!

Dan @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:08AM

Well I guess I'll go ahead and stop subscribing to the 1up Yours podcast now.

rokerovakero @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:20AM

Funny how the hardcore amongst the hardcore is also turning to profit from the casual gamer... lol... everyone loves money... just a while ago he was hating Nintendo's family oriented console...

embassy @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:22AM

hmm, this adds a new dimension to the last episode of the 1up show.

ruben magana @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:35AM

what happened to the comments people made in reference to neogaf? i think that everyone just wants to know where this rumor (for now) came from.

Jason D. @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:45AM

This guy is starting a family website?! He is the most foul mouthed guy in the podcast and 1up show.

Wubbytoes @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:53AM

I wish him the best, I love listening to him on 1 Up Yours.

Chris @ Aug 23rd 2007 12:58AM

Well 1 Up Yours will completly suck. I never really cared for Luke, but after he left you could tell a lot of energy and momentum from the show died. John was the only thing that kept that show sane. Garnett is such a , "Me too me too I'm a rebel!" and Shane only likes Sony stuff. I wish they would just hand the show over to Mark McDonald and let him choose new people to be on it.

Nox @ Aug 23rd 2007 8:31AM

I agree, Mark McDonald is great when hes on the show. I also like when they have some of the GFW guys on the show, Sean Elliot and Jeff Green are both funny. I think Shane and Garnett do a good job. 1up Yours will still be the best podcast around!

Gillman @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:09AM

Source? Links? Name of the site?

robotplague @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:35AM

I honestly just hope that nothing happens to the GFW guys, one of the best podcasts around. I'm not even a PC gamer and they're one of my favorite podcasts.

Scott @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:37AM

1up Yours won't suck. It may not have the same voices I enjoyed over weeks of listening but it will still be entertaining. Mark McDonald, Jeff Green and Sean Elliot are still there. Not to mention probably the gem of the Garret. So I don't see why some of you are getting so down without even giving it a chance. Plus it hasn't happened yet so you have few more episode with John.

Harbl @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:07AM

Garnet! It's Garnet Lee, for God's sake!

Hashbrown_Hunter @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:48AM

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! John was one of my favorites...besides Luke Smith! I'm unlucky....

Well at least he won't fall off the radar like Luke did. I haven't heard from him in a veeeeeery long time.

Hashbrown_Hunter @ Aug 23rd 2007 1:49AM

yeah garret is pretty good. I'm sure he'll do a good job.

fatguy2007 @ Aug 23rd 2007 9:15PM

God damn it, first Luke, now John. Who the fuck is next?

Jared Rea @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:06AM

Hey yall.

There is no source attached to this story because this is insider information (see: first-hand) that has been known to us for some time now, but were holding out for an official statement from their camp. Our rule is, however, that once the information is out there (See: excited GAFer blowing the wad), then there is no longer a reason to withhold said information.

Until then, just sit tight and wait for the official word which, to be honest, isn't going to differ much if at all from our story. Trust us ... if this were rumors or speculations or whatever you want to call it, we would have very clearly labeled it as such.

Thanks!

why not the LS2/LS7? @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:07AM

Luke Smith was no prize. Didn't you notice how 1up Yours stopped being an immature shouting match when he left?

And Luke knew almost nothing about games. He went GDC and they asked him what he did and he said he remembered spending time chatting with the WoW designers about how uber his character was. They asked Shane, and he talked about talking to a woman who was responsible for parts of E3 and hearing some of the details about how it would be worked out (no one knew how the new E3 would be run at the time). Luke went to the show as a fanboy, Shane went as a journalist.

Oh, and when they sent Luke to Leipzig to cover the Xbox show there, Luke didn't even call in to report at all.

Losing Luke was not a problem. Losing John will be a big one.

Po0py @ Aug 23rd 2007 2:56AM

I remember John leaving was joked about on the 1up show a couple of weeks back. But Davidson denied it all roads. He had a weird look on his face though.

1up yours is the best podcast around, it has been for over a year. Davidson will be missed for sure but there are plenty of stand ins. Mark MacDonald for one...
Che was the first out the door.
Then Jane Pincard.
Luke went not so long ago.
And now John Davidson. Davidson was probably the only sane person at 1up.
I still miss Jane Pincard. Mmm. Jane...

Skippy @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:54PM

Davison, not Davidson

Mudron @ Aug 23rd 2007 3:33AM

Regardless of the veracity of this rumour, Davison is one of the smartest guys working in the journalism end of the gaming industray, and so it would make a lot of sense for him to bail from the Ziff Davis fiasco as soon as possible and try to set up a smaller, less-perpetually-on-the-verge-of-insolvency-styled gaming news shop elsewhere on the web.

I can only hope he might be able to grab a few more 1up staffers as he walks out the door.