Meet the New Carpetbagger

We are very excited to announce that Melena Ryzik will be taking over as lead writer for the NY Times’ Carpetbagger blog, following in the footsteps of media columnist (and friend of AwardsDaily) David Carr.

There are only a scant few of us women on the Oscar beat, so it’s all kinds of cool that Carr is passing the baton to a dame. Let’s hear it for girl power!

Ryzik will take over interviews and general coverage, and will also continue Carr’s video series. She comes highly recommended, so we will be keeping an eye on her as she wades into the Oscar pool. Carr’s announcement is probably a good sign that Oscar season is indeed upon us. I hope you all are as ready as I am.

The full press release, with everything you ever wanted to know about Melena Ryzik after the cut.

MELENA RYZIK TO WRITE THE CARPETBAGGER BLOG ON NYTIMES.COM
Annual Blog on the Hollywood Awards Season to Relaunch December 1

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2009 – NYTimes.com announced today that culture reporter Melena Ryzik will be the new lead writer of the Carpetbagger blog beginning Dec. 1, when it is relaunched for the Hollywood awards season. In addition to being a general assignment culture reporter, Ms. Ryzik chronicles cultural life in New York for the UrbanEye video series, and writes the UrbanEye e-mail, a daily guide to events around town. As the Carpetbagger, she succeeds media columnist David Carr, who originated the blog but is retiring his tuxedo from the red carpet beat after four seasons. He will continue as a media columnist and a general assignment reporter.

The Carpetbagger blog is devoted to the ups and downs of Hollywood’s award season, taking its audience behind the scenes of major industry events including the Sundance Film Festival, the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. Ms. Ryzik will also continue the Carpetbagger video series, which Mr. Carr launched on NYTimes.com, to cover the film world and give viewers a peek into how celebrity news is made, on and off the red carpet. Additional reporting to the blog will come from several other Times journalists, including the Los Angeles-based reporters Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes.

The Carpetbagger blog also hosts many additional features to engage readers, from calendars to track the nominations to an Oscar-race scorecard. The blog was launched in fall of 2005 and has appeared every year since, earning a devoted audience of readers and viewers.

Ms. Ryzik joined The Times in 2001 writing for metro and investigative news. She was a contributing writer for The Times’s former celebrity column Boldface Names. The UrbanEye video series will go on hiatus during Carpetbagger season; the UrbanEye e-mails will continue.