![]() ![]() ("That's fucking lunch money" for multibillionaire Thiel, Del acknowledges, but money is not the only consideration in the bidding process. The fundraising campaign's stated goals are twofold: to "preserve the archives and make them accessible," and then to "relaunch the site under the stewardship of former editors, new writers, and an entirely membership-funded model." At press time, the campaign has raised about $79,000 in pledged donations. The second is a federal court action against Gawker Media. The first is a state court action against Heather Clem and Bubba the Love Sponge Clem. Counsel will discuss the two civil lawsuits suits being filed today Octoin Tampa, Florida. TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 15: TV personality Terry Bollea aka Hulk Hogan (C) and his attorneys David Houston (L) and Charles Harder (R) attend for a press conference to discuss legal action being brought on his behalf. They're done at risk to the institution and the reporters working on them." Gawker, though, specialized in those stories, which are hard to do. "Now I don't think they have a problem doing that. "Before Trump was elected, major outlets probably wouldn't have gone after the more salacious aspects of who he is and what his history is," Spiers says. It is a particularly galling irony that Gawker was shuttered right before Trump's presidency. You could see where something like that would be useful in covering the Trump administration." "Most publications won't pay for information. It doesn't take a media mogul to see that Gawker would be valuable in the present political moment, Spiers says. Del has spoken with about a dozen Gawker alumni who are interested in rejoining the site, but he won't share their names publicly because many are presently employed elsewhere. Spiers, who edited Gawker at the time of its founding in 2002, is listed as an adviser (she is not interested in being an editor again). Calling themselves The Gawker Foundation, they launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to relaunch the site as a nonprofit operation. This month, Del and a loose coalition of former Gawker staffers went public with their efforts. Related: What Gawker's 'victims' really think about the death of the site Representatives for Thiel did not respond to numerous requests for comment.) ![]() trying to think of all the possible outcomes and how we could still come out on top even if Peter Thiel gets everything he wants." (Gawker founding editor Elizabeth Spiers suspects that Thiel may be interested because the Gawker estate has some counterclaims against him, which he doesn't want pursued. So I'm trying not to think about what he actually wants. Because he's so fucking smart and rich, he just knows how to work things from his advantage. "I don't know if this is still a grudge that he is trying to settle with Nick. Then, more troubling news: BuzzFeed reported that Thiel might be looking to snatch up the site. had purchased most Gawker Media properties after the bankruptcy, including Jezebel and Gizmodo, but not the flagship gossip site, .) After the site's bankruptcy plan administrators began searching for a buyer, it was reported that old Gawker articles were at risk of being deleted by a potential owner, perhaps out of fear of new litigation. In October, the project took on added urgency: Gawker was for sale. ![]() "It is a sobering experience," he wrote in a Medium post in early 2017, "to have your childhood hero and a shadowy billionaire strategically dismantle the company that you bought stock in instead of paying off your student loans." (The "shadowy billionaire" was Peter Thiel, who secretly financed Hogan's lawsuit to take down Gawker.) A former ad executive, he spent nearly eight years at Gawker-a remarkably long tenure in digital media.The company was his first real job out of college. "ĭel mulled the idea over for a few weeks: Could ex-Gawker staffers and readers raise enough money to purchase the site? Then he started meeting with lawyers.įor Del, the mission was personal. A for-profit enterprise is always going to have these sticking points where if advertisers don't want to work with you, then you need to figure out a new revenue. But we don't want to create the same structure that led to its ultimate downfall. "The big hurdle was, we want to save this thing. "That's how the conversation started," he says now. A former Gawker Media editor blurted out, "We should just buy the site." After a few drinks, the blog's alumni began wondering what might become of the domain and its voluminous archives. The subject turned to Gawker, the company founded by Nick Denton, where Del and a few others at the party had worked before the flagship gossip site was demolished by a $140 million legal judgment resulting from the Hulk Hogan sex tape lawsuit.Ī year had gone by since Gawker's abrupt demise. It was August 2017, and James Del was at Sunny's, a beloved dive bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn, for a friend's birthday. ![]()
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