
GAWKER SUED PROFESSIONAL

Some staff were relocated to other ventures in the group, including Gizmodo, Lifehacker, and feminist site Jezebel. Gawker Media Group was acquired by Univision for $135 million in September 2016. Perhaps more interesting is that Hogan’s lawsuit was funded in secret by Peter Thiel – a tech billionaire with a long-held grudge against Gawker for accusing him of being homosexual.Īlthough Thiel played the biggest role in bringing the company to its knees, Gawker had a history of similar incidents with a CNN anchor, Fox News reporter, and New York media executive, among others.Īs a result, the assertion from Hogan’s lawyers that Gawker was an organization without a moral compass was an easy argument to make. The company did not have the money to meet this commitment, so it was forced to declare immediate bankruptcy. Hogan sued in a Florida court and as a result, Gawker was forced to pay out $140 million in damages.

Gawker’s fateful decision to publish a video of Hulk Hogan having sex with his best friend’s wife without permission set the company on a path to bankruptcy. Let’s take a look at the rather interesting story of Gawker’s demise. Two months later, Gawker Media announced its flagship blog would cease operations. In June 2016, Gawker announced a bankruptcy filing related to a lawsuit instigated by retired professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. Gawker was an American celebrity and media gossip blog founded by Elizabeth Spiers and Nick Denton in 2002.ĭuring its peak in 2015, the website had over 23 million monthly visitors as one of the flagship products of parent company Gawker Media Group. Digital Business Models Podcast by FourWeekMBA.Business Strategy Book Bundle By FourWeekMBA.An Entire MBA In Four Weeks By FourWeekMBA.100+ Business Models Book By FourWeekMBA.
GAWKER SUED SERIES
In the background, Peter Thiel, a multi-millionaire had secretly been financing Hulk Hogan’s court case as well as other people’s cases against Gawker in retaliation for Gawker writing a series of articles about his friends, others and about his sexual orientation. Nevertheless, the damages forced Gawker to close its doors. It emerged however that Gawker had engaged in offshore tax manipulation, an activity it had, through its publication, railed against. However, carrying the case forward a jury found in favour of Hogan and ultimately severe penalties were awarded against Gawker. The 1st Amendment was cited and a federal court judge found in Gawkers interest.

Hogan sued Gawker but Denton the CEO of Gawker claimed that the publication was in the public interest. Gawker published a sex video of Hulk Hogan without his knowledge or permission.

The case study explores a complex situation covering the invasion of individual privacy by a news agency, the breaking of the 1st Amendment and the actions of a wealthy individual to attack and destroy an online media organisation and its owner.
