US site Gawker confirmed today that after 14 years of operation, they’ll be shutting down and stopping all operations next week.
The media site had a rough trot during its demise, due to legal action over two extremely unethical stories:
Hulk Hogan famously sued them for $100 million USD after they leaked his sex tape and published a 1400-word account of it. He was backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, who Gawker had also infamously outed as gay in previous months.
Gawker today published this short but sweet piece, saying that staff were informed of the site’s expiration date yesterday:
“Nick Denton, the company’s outgoing CEO, informed current staffers of the site’s fate on Thursday afternoon, just hours before a bankruptcy court in Manhattan will decide whether to approve Univision’s bid for Gawker Media’s other assets.Staffers will soon be assigned to other editorial roles, either at one of the other six sites or elsewhere within Univision.Near-term plans for Gawker.com’s coverage, as well as the site’s archives, have not yet been finalised.”
The announcement that Gawker will shut down comes mere days after Univision successfully bid $135 million for Gawker Media’s six other websites, Deadspin, Lifehacker, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Jalopnik, and Jezebel.
So, wave goodbye to Gawker everyone – it’s been real, champions.
Source: Gawker.
