Thiel, who has acknowledged that he's bankrolling other lawsuits against Gawker Media, said in a New York Times op-ed earlier this week that he will support Hogan "until his final victory." Hogan's lawsuit was financed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, himself a target of Gawker's coverage. A Florida jury awarded Hogan $140.1 million in damages earlier this year, which motivated both Gawker Media and Denton to file for bankruptcy this summer. Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, filed an invasion of privacy suit against Gawker Media after the namesake site published a portion of his sex tape in 2012.
#Gawker univision professional
The site's unsparing coverage prompted several lawsuits, including the one brought by the former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan that sent the parent company into bankruptcy. The site also served as a springboard for some of the internet's best-known writers and editors.īut had its critics, many of whom are likely celebrating Thursday's news.
It represents an abrupt end for a site that helped define a snarky tone and style that are now ubiquitous across digital media. " may, like Spy Magazine in its day, have a second act," he wrote in the memo.įor now, Denton added, the site "will live on in legend." As ethically dubious as Gawker's decision to publish the Hulk Hogan sex tape was, Thiel's "investment" in Hogan's lawsuit represents the very oligarchical mindset sites like Gawker exist to deflate - a task that could be far more easily accomplished with the muscle of Univision behind them.Ī better way to test these new waters could scarcely be imagined, what with the Republican candidate declaring that it's past time to "open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.Later in the memo, Denton said the site had been "mothballed, until the smoke clears and a new owner can be found." Such a decision would be especially risky in the new media environment Denton and Thiel unwittingly collaborated in creating - one in which a Silicon Valley venture capitalist can silence media outlets who production offends him simply by funding lawsuits against them. But if Univision's ability to purchase Gawker Media teaches the conglomerate anything at all, it's that regularly risking a company in order to maintain a brand isn't a sound financial plan. Pay Pal founder Peter Thiel's personal vendetta against Denton and his company - he bankrolled the Hulk Hogan lawsuit that led to its dissolution, citing as his rationale the fact that Gawker maliciously outed him in 2007 - was a product of the very newsroom environment Denton now claims Univision will leave intact. Put differently, what remains unclear is whether Univision collected these properties in order to acquire credibility with a younger, more racially and culturally diverse audience, or is attempting to lend some of its gravitas to sites which occasionally mistake aggression for political acumen and insult for advocacy. “We could not have picked an acquirer more devoted to vibrant journalism," although what he means by "vibrant journalism" could be debated.
"I am pleased that our employees are protected and will continue their work under new ownership-disentangled from the legal campaign against the company,” Mr. All of these sites, as well as those purchased earlier this year, are designed to appeal to a generation of largely sarcastic digital natives who prefer their news delivered with knowing smiles and occasional fits of profanity.Īccording to Denton, that ethos will be maintained under new ownership. Univision will maintain Gawker's current stable of properties - the flagship site, the feminist oriented Jezebel, the sports site Deadspin, and the tech site Gizmodo among them. It also became the sole proprietor of Fusion, which produces content aimed at millennials. The sale represents yet another incursion by Univision into predominantly English-speaking markets, as earlier this year the company purchased the satirical site The Onion, as well as The Root, a site aimed at a predominantly African-American audience. On Tuesday, Spanish-language broadcaster Univision successfully purchased the remains of Nick Denton's Gawker media empire for $135 million - and in so doing, may have changed the landscape of online journalism.
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