John Cook is out at The Intercept, the investigative news site helmed by Glenn Greenwald and backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar under the First Look Media umbrella.
Cook will return to Gawker in an investigatory role after less than a year at The Intercept, according to Vanity Fair's Sarah Ellison, who broke the news.
Wow. I hear @johnjcook leaving @the_intercept. Back to @gawker to run investigations #firstlook
— Sarah Ellison (@Sarahlellison) November 13, 2014
Cook previously served as editor in chief of Gawker, a job he left in March to join The Intercept.
His exit follows closely on the heels of Matt Taibbi, who reportedly clashed with leadership at First Look while trying to build out his vertical, Racket. Taibbi has since returned to his previous employers Rolling Stone, and will also write for ESPN's Grantland.
Taibbi's exit caused a flurry of speculation about internal strife and a broad shift away from previously stated editorial goals at First Look Media. Much of that was confirmed in a post on The Intercept that shed some light on Taibbi's exit and broader issues within the media startup.
Nick Denton, CEO of Gawker Media, had previously joked about Cook returning, since First Look and Gawker are reportedly going to inhabit the same office building in New York City. (Editors' note: Mashable's office is in this same building. We look forward to the rooftop cookouts.)
“It will certainly make it easier for him to return to Gawker Media,” Denton joked. http://t.co/2VQweZ36Mk pic.twitter.com/xta1UqasAH
— Peter Sterne (@petersterne) November 13, 2014