When Spiers left Gawker, she was replaced by Choire Sicha, a former art dealer. Gawker's official launch was in December 2002. It was originally edited by Elizabeth Spiers. Gawker was founded by journalist Nick Denton in 2002, after he left the Financial Times. History Former Gawker logo before Bustle revival The Gawker Media newsroom at 210 Elizabeth Street in New York on July 13, 2010. Finnegan tweeted that the publication was folding. On February 1, 2023, Bustle Digital Group suspended the site's operations. Gawker relaunched under the Bustle Digital Group on July 28, 2021, with Leah Finnegan as editor. On July 12, 2018, Bryan Goldberg, owner of Bustle and Elite Daily, purchased in a bankruptcy auction for less than $1.5 million. Founder Nick Denton created the site's final post on August 22, 2016. Its other websites were unaffected, and continued to be run by Univision. On August 18, 2016, Gawker Media announced that its namesake blog would be ceasing operations the following week. On June 10, 2016, Gawker filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay Hogan $140 million in damages. Hogan received financial support from billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who had been outed by Gawker against his wishes.

Gawker 's publication of a sex tape featuring Hulk Hogan led Hogan to sue the company for invasion of privacy. Gawker came under scrutiny for posting videos, communications and other content that violated copyrights or the privacy of its owners, or was illegally obtained. Gawker Media also managed other blogs such as Jezebel, io9, Deadspin and Kotaku. Founded in 2002, Gawker was the flagship blog for Denton's Gawker Media. According to SimilarWeb, the site had over 23 million visits per month as of 2015. A spokesperson for Thiel declined to comment.Gawker was an American blog founded by Nick Denton and Elizabeth Spiers and based in New York City focusing on celebrities and the media industry. Some of those who were contacted suspected that Thiel was behind the effort. That individual said he was representing a Silicon Valley billionaire who was interested in taking over Gawker. It also called the lawsuits funded by Thiel 'a coordinated barrage.'įORBES also reported that earlier this year a New York M&A lawyer contacted multiple former Gawker employees. ' During the sale process, will maintain normal operations, publishing news and opinion on technology, politics and other interests to its 6 million readers each weekday, and providing advertisers with access to this desirable audience,' the company said in a statement. It was reported earlier that Univision was looking to invest or possibly buy the company outright. It's unclear what other buyers will come in for Gawker, though last month at a conference in Los Angeles, Denton was seen meeting with a senior vice president at Univision. He also added that 2016 will also likely end up in the red due to legal fees. Denton said that the company has spent about $10 million in defending itself against the Hogan case alone. The company ended 2015 at breakeven on $50 million in revenue, and would have been profitable if not for legal fees. Last month, Denton told FORBES that the company did not have the money to cover the judgment from the Hogan case. That person also said there are other potential bidders who will likely make offers in the coming months for the company.

A person close to the company said that the filing allows the company to delay claims from any creditors and court judgments, giving Gawker time to restructure and hold off on paying Hogan and his lawyers. Gawker filed for bankruptcy on Friday following the judge's refusal to grant a stay. One of those lawsuits included a second on behalf of Hogan, who alleged extortion surrounding the publication of his sex tape. In May, FORBES discovered that Thiel had been bankrolling Hogan's lawyers, who had filed at least three other lawsuits against Gawker since the beginning of the year. This March, following a two-week trial, a jury awarded Hogan $115 million, an amount that was bolstered by an additional $25 million for punitive damages. In January, Gawker sold a minority stake to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg and his Columbus Nova Technology Partners in anticipation for the lawsuit from Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea.

The Chapter 11 filing should have little immediate impact on the company's current operations though it adds another twist to a saga that has been full of them. 'Our sites will thrive-under new ownership-and we'll win in court.'Ī spokesperson for Thiel declined to comment. 'Even with his billions, Thiel will not silence our writers,' Denton tweeted.

Gawker media bankrupt