Exclusive! Kate Coe ankles Fishbowl LA

Kate Coe, one of L.A.’s most influential Internet journalists and critics, has parted ways with MediaBistro’s Fishbowl LA website. The ankling amid a dispute over money (Kate says she was "fired") could be an indication of a revolt within MediaBistro similar to the one that led to an exodus from Nick Denton’s Gawker Media company earlier this year, and is a clear indicator of the battle now shaping up between Internet entrepreneurs like MB's Laurel Touby and experienced journos and writers who are used to, and rely on, getting paid for their work.

Kate is not only among the brightest lights in the online industry of combining pithy comments with links to other people's news stories, she's also a wicked and witty media critic and brave investigative reporter whose groundbreaking coverage of the mysterious pretty artist suicides of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake led to smear attacks that labeled her “a CIA mockingbird” with “’Jackie Collins Presents’ on her resume”-- which sound to us like a solid enough basis for KateCoe.com to move in where other local websites haven’t gone-- because they won't pay people to do the work.