“Say what it really is! It’s not a place for journalism!” Gawker founder Nick Denton shuttered Gawker in 2016 after losing a $140 million lawsuit. “Make this into an advertising company then!,” she fired back, according to the report by Peter Sterne. “I cannot, I cannot believe that you are actually saying this!” “Do you know how much money we lose all the time, because of cancellations in ads?” Denton is reported to have said in the exchange with Finnegan. Leah Finnegan worked at Gawker for one year during its heyday as a writer and features editor before taking a buyout in July 2015.Ī day after the explosive story was published, Gawker’s top executives voted to pull it down and Denton issued a lengthy apology saying the story should never have been published.įinnegan was reportedly one of the leaders of the editorial uprising against Denton that followed.Īccording to an article in Capitol New York in July 2015, Finnegan accused Denton of selling out to please advertisers in what was described as a heated shouting match. The article triggered a furious backlash for the apparent gay shaming of a relatively unknown executive, and a number of major advertisers pulled ads. One such feud burst into public view after Gawker ran a story outing a top executive at Condé Nast, a married family man who reportedly tried to arrange a liaison with a gay escort on a business trip. Goldberg has attempted to resuscitate Gawker twice before, but it has stubbornly remained a zombie site since 2016 when then-owner Denton lost a $140 million invasion-of-privacy lawsuit to Hulk Hogan that forced it to shut down and auction off its sites to new owners.įinnegan arrived a year before Gawker shuttered, just as its leaders were attempting to rein in some of its more outlandish posts - leading to a bit of a culture clash between Gawker’s still bloodthirsty writers and its top executives. Before working at Gawker, the Brooklyn resident spent 2 1/2 years at the New York Times. In addition to her time at Gawker under Denton, Finnegan also spent a year at Bustle as editor-in-chief of The Outline before Goldberg pulled the plug on it at the start of the pandemic. And he has no incentive to fight them.”įinnegan tweeted about her new gig Sunday evening, saying “the rumors are true!,” but Media Ink was unable to reach her further comment. “But Bryan and I have talked about Gawker before and I told him the first thing he’s not gonna like is that the Gawker team will want to unionize. “She’s great and I hope it works,” Spirers tweeted Monday. Some media watchers are already predicting trouble ahead for Bustle owner Bryan Goldberg.Įlizabeth Spiers, the founding editor of Gawker back in 2002/03 when it was a buzzy blog site centered on the New York media world, praised the hiring of Finnegan while also predicting clashes between Goldberg and the staff. Despite her short tenure, she gained a reputation for pushing the envelope at the Web site, already famous for its irreverent posts, and for feuding with Gawker founder Nick Denton. Gawker begs readers to have an ‘open mind and heart’ in quiet relaunchįormer Gawker editor withdraws defamation lawsuit against ex-employeeīustle Digital Group has hired a firebrand writer from Gawker’s past to lead its third effort at resurrecting the snarky gossip site it picked up at a bankruptcy auction nearly three years ago.īustle had little to say on the effort except to confirm it hired Leah Finnegan as editor-in-chief, first mentioned as a one liner in Ben Smith’s media column in the New York Times earlier this week.īustle also confirmed the launch efforts but declined to discuss timing, editorial mission or staffing plans.įinnegan worked at Gawker for one year during its heyday as a writer and features editor before taking a buyout in July 2015. News, gossip site Gawker shuts down - again!ĭeadspin owner G/O Media buys business news site Quartz

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