After a week of chaos, Gawker Media will attempt to wipe the slate clean (so to speak) on Monday by relaunching Gawker.com. Not only that, but the name “Gawker” might be on its way out too.
“We have an awesome portfolio,” Denton told Digiday. “We produce a lot of drama. And sometimes, we become the story. We don’t want Gawker.com to be limited by the needs of the company. And there is a strong argument for a company name that is not the same as Gawker.com.”
The relaunch is just the latest bit of news in what has become a Gawker-heavy week. It started last Friday, when staff writer Jordan Sargent posted a terrible item that outed a married man. The post was then deleted, despite widespread opposition from Gawker staffers. The deletion of the post led to editors Tommy Craggs and Max Read resigning. And ever since then, staffers have essentially acted like spoiled children.
What’s next for Gawker? According to Capital New York, Denton told staffers he wants the new site to be “10 to 15 percent nicer” than the old site. Denton also said that any staffer that doesn’t like that new direction is welcome to quit and they’ll get full severance pay.
It’s a good move. Denton has put the ball squarely in the court of the many staffers who weren’t outraged that Gawker outed a married man and possibly ruined his family’s life, but could not tolerate the fact that the post was deleted. Priorities can be a funny thing.
