After publishing a Hulk Hogan sex video, the pro wrestling star sued the company, eventually winning a $140 million judgment. It’s that latter part that got Gawker, and Denton, in trouble. was consistent: If someone famous was doing it, it was news, and therefore worth posting. Other things Gawker did, like outing people’s sexuality or publishing their private sex tapes, are considered beyond the pale by almost everyone. Some of the things Gawker did, like paying sources for access to juicy stories (like the iPhone 4), are considered distasteful by professional journalists in the U.S. Turnover was high but many of the early Gawker writers and editors went on to terrific careers in more traditional media, or in more stable startups.ĭenton also brought a distinctly British tabloid sensibility to his media company. In each case, Denton tended to hire independent-minded editors, give them a lot of autonomy, and let them burn themselves out in a frenzy of furious blogging. Other sites, like Kotaku, Lifehacker, and Jalopnik, pursued their own verticals. Valleywag was the on-again, off-again Gawker-style gossip rag for Silicon Valley. took off as a gossipy take on New York media and assorted celebrities. Gizmodo became the go-to site for aggressively sourced and intelligently explained gadget news. Denton was smart enough to pursue a portfolio strategy, rather than try to be all things to all people: Each site had its focus and its audience. Today’s bankruptcy filing will surely do nothing but provide kindling to that fiery discussion.What he understood, early on, was how well-suited the blog format could be to a modern news site. Even were you to succeed in bankrupting Gawker Media, the writers you dislike, and me, just think what it will mean.” In offsetting the fawning coverage of tech luminaries and others, sometimes our stories swing too far for my taste toward snark,” wrote Denton. “Among the million posts published by Gawker and other properties since the company was founded, there have undoubtedly been occasions we overstepped the line. On May 26, Denton published an open letter to Thiel. The network of Gawker sites has also broken ground over the years with reports on how Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o was hoaxed, how former Toronto mayor Rob Ford had a crack cocaine addition and how Facebook staffers were allegedly preventing conservatively-tinged stories from trending. Gawker has tangled with the likes of Quentin Tarantino for linking to a then-unpublished screenplay of The Hateful Eight and Lena Dunham for revealing her book pitch. Gawker has been controversial from its genesis as a blog that had a feature called “ Gawker Stalker” reporting on the movements of celebrities. Gawker Files Bankruptcy Lawsuit Against Foes Including Hulk Hogan This week, the Florida judge heard Gawker’s motion to forgo putting up a $50 million bond pending the appeal and thanks to the outcome, Gawker felt the need to seek the protections of the bankruptcy court. In March, a two-week trial was held that resulted in a victory for Hogan as well as Thiel, who provided secret financial backing after being the target of Gawker’s former site, Valleywag, which outed him as gay. The wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, filed suit against Gawker after a post in October 2012 about the wonders of watching celebrity sex. Hogan, of course, is listed as the biggest unsecured creditor in a disputed claim. Gawker will also be seeking $22 million in debtor financing while it aims to restructure itself and fight off collection efforts from Hogan as its dispute with the former professional wrestler goes to an appeals court. Additionally, it’s got a second credit agreement worth $15 million with US VC Partners. “The sale and filing are intended to preserve the value of GMG’s pioneering digital news business, safeguard the jobs of journalists and other staff, and allow GMG to fund the appeal against the $130 million judgment in the Hulk Hogan case against the company in a Florida state court,” states a press release.Īccording to bankruptcy papers, Gawker has secured a $7.66 million loan from Silicon Valley Bank with a line of credit of $5.3 million. The sale could trigger an auction process for other potential buyers and is subject to approval from a bankruptcy court. The financial terms should be released soon, but it is believed that the tech publisher will be putting up $100 million for the site, which had about 44 million unique visitors last month. In conjunction with the bankruptcy filing, Gawker also announced it had entered into an asset purchase agreement to sell its assets to Ziff Davis. Gawker has hired the investment bank Houlihan Lokey to advise it on a possible sale.
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