Gawker, the best known part of Gawker Media, but apparently the least salvageable, will not be welcomed aboard the lifeboat that Univision has sent to the sinking company in the form of a $135 million bid for its assets. The site will cease publishing on Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation...
Gawker's nearly 14 years' worth of media-world scoops, amusing rants, gratuitous take-downs and occasional investigative gems will be archived, according to a memo company founder and Chief Executive Nick Denton sent to staffers Thursday announcing the site's closure.
"We have not been able to find a single media company or investor willing to take on Gawker.com," he wrote. "The campaign being mounted against its editorial ethos and former writers has made it too risky. I can understand the caution. Gawker.com may, like Spy Magazine in its day, have a second act. For the moment, however, it will be mothballed, until the smoke clears and a new owner can be found."...
Gawker Media, which declared bankruptcy in June after losing an
invasion-of-privacy suit brought by Hulk Hogan. A Florida jury awarded
him $140 million in the case, which revolved around a sex tape of the
wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, that Gawker published. more