

Gawker site definition pro#
It faces a lawsuit for releasing sex footage of pro wrestler Hulk Hogan. The incident with the media executive is not the first time Gawker has run into controversy. Gawker Media, which is believed to be one of the larger online news organisations, also publishes Deadspin, Gizmodo and other niche news sites. “We’ve seen a sea change in what Americans view as news,” he said, because of “an endless appetite for celebrity gossip”. “If TheNew York Times did this, we’d all be shocked and appalled, but after all, the site is called Gawker,” Paulson said.

Ken Paulson, a former USA Today editor who is now dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University, said Gawker’s ethics policies may not necessarily be the same as other news organisations. “You are often putting yourself in an ethical dilemma.”Īccording to the news blog Capital New York, Denton told staff that he wants the new Gawker to be “20 per cent nicer” than the old one, but then downgraded that to say it should be “10 to 15 per cent” nicer. “It will be challenging because gossip by its nature is often unverified and is often about information that may or may not be confirmed,” Colon said. “We do not seek to expose every personal secret - only those that reveal something interesting enough to warrant publication.”Īly Colon, chair of journalism ethics at Washington and Lee University, said it may be difficult for Gawker to chart a new course. “The company expects high journalistic standards to be maintained by our writers and even more so our editors,” Denton said in the memo. The decision to delete the article, which purportedly exposed a senior media executive’s efforts to contact a high-priced escort, had divided the Gawker staff.ĭenton said he was “ashamed that we would ruin the home life of a largely private individual with such a flimsy rationale” and that the crisis has forced a re-evaluation of the group’s editorial mission. Last week, Tommy Craggs, the executive editor of Gawker Media, and Max Read, editor-in-chief of, quit because of the site’s managing partners’ decision to delete the controversial post. That’s been the Gawker brand from the beginning,” said Dan Kennedy, a journalism professor at Northeastern University. “Their mission is to be as mean-spirited as they possibly can. Some immediate reactions were sceptical, amid questions on whether the site known for brash and unabashed reporting can be journalistically ethical. “After the passionate public argument of the last week, calm is restored enough to begin a real, civil dialogue,” Denton said in a recent memo to staff titled ‘Gawker’s growing up’.

Gawker Media founder and chief executive Nick Denton said a “dialogue about the editorial code” would begin in August. WASHINGTON: Gawker says it will rethink its ethics policies following turmoil over an article about an executive’s private life, in what could be a turning point for the popular news and gossip website.
