![]() Scocca puts all the blame for Gawker's demise on their legal detractors: In this parting bit of petulance from Gawker's Features Editor Tom Scocca, Gawker was murdered by Gaslight, Scocca portrays Gawker as troubadours of truth who were ousted by a sinister new force: billionaires with axes to grind, in this case, infamous Trump supporter Peter Thiel, who secretly funded Hulk Hogan's successful suit against Gawker (this was personal to Thiel, who was outed as gay by Gawker in a 2007 post that is, amazingly, still live). ![]() Daulerio, who along with being a loser in the Hulk Hogan lawsuit, once published a video of a girl having ambiguously consensual sex, refusing her pleas to take it down. ![]() The other notorious publication in the group, the sports rag Deadspin, has cleaned up its journalistic act in recent years, though its legacy is still tainted by past editorial transgressions, including some wretched decisions by former Deadspin and Gawker Editor and world class new media asshole A.J. However, Univision views as too toxic to touch. Time will reveal any editorial changes, but from what I understand, the bulk of 's staff has been absorbed into these other publications. All will be absorbed into Univision's Fusion Media Group. One factual note: while has shut down, the acquiring company, Univision, will continue publishing 's affiliate publications, including Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Jezebel and Kotaku. As an enterprise dude, I find myself wondering what the implications are. 's litigation-caused demise provokes an intense debate on the predicaments of new media, from publishing ethics on the one hand, to the dangers posed to media companies by axe-grinding lawsuits on the other.Īs a so-called blogger, I am livid about the exit blogs on.Most fail due to business model/revenue problems. This is the first I can recall a consistently profitable new media company being shut down.But there are two notable aspects of Gawker's fall: We saw that not long ago in the enterprise space with the May 2015 shuttering of GigaOm, (though GigaOm proved hard to kill, and has returned in a somewhat new form). This is hardly the first time that a media property has quickly ceased operations. Now, 's casket is closed, though you can still pay your respects at, which contains a series of self-righteous obituaries that offer abundant clues to the victim's demise. If nothing else, media wonks will continue to talk about Peter Thiel's decisive financial and legal retribution against the site, and the precedents it could set for independent journalism that deals with people in power.In May, when 's fate was not yet sealed, my colleague Den Howlett penned a Friday rant: the media business just got a bit interesting. Gawker might soon go dark, but the conversations it sparked will live on. ![]() The rest of Gawker's network could bring plenty of new eyeballs to Univision's advertisers, but 's reputation was likely considered too toxic to salvage by its new corporate overlords. What's more, the question of Gawker's continued existence hung over the entire process - Univision has been steadily growing its online assets by acquiring satire site The Onion and The Root, an online magazine dedicated to African-American culture. A New York bankruptcy court will pass judgment on the offer later today, and after that, the $135 million will hang in the air while Gawker Media appeals the verdict of its case against Hulk Hogan. Speaking of things that haven't been finalized, the fate of Univision's deal hasn't been set in stone yet either. "The near-term plans for 's coverage, as well as the site's archives," Trotter mentions, "have not yet been finalized." The announcement comes on the heels of Univision's $135 million bid for Gawker Media's network of websites, which also includes Kotaku, Lifehacker, Deadspin, Jalopnik, Jezebel and our friendly rival Gizmodo.Īt this point, we don't know what Gawker's online legacy will look like. Gawker Media's long, strange legal battle is done, and so is - reporter JK Trotter just confirmed that the site is set to cease operations next week, after 14 years of snarking up every possible tree.
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