Oh Nick, you pompous jackass.
Earlier this week, Gawker Founder Nick Denton filed for Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy. This step was necessary; the lawsuit brought by Hulk Hogan for a 2012 sex tape would have bankrupted Denton. Denton is on the hook for $10 million by himself and $115 million jointly with his rape video posting editor A.J. Daulerio. According to Denton, his assets comprise of a 30% stake in Gawker and a Manhattan apartment; This comes out to about $50 million.
As I read all of this, I cannot help but laugh. Nick Denton deserve everything he gets.
And why? Because despite all the evidence contrary to this, Nick Denton believes that he is the hero. A man trying to do the right thing, beaten down by the powers of evil.
In a memo, Denton paints himself and his minions of Gawker as the good guys:
"You may have seen the news that I have, as expected, had to join the company in bankruptcy. Peter Thiel’s (the Paypal Founder who Gawker outed in 2007) legal campaign has targeted individual writers like Sam Biddle, editors such as John Cook, and me as publisher. It is a personal vendetta. Yes, it’s disturbing to live in a world in which a billionaire can bully journalists because he didn’t like the coverage. Still, I’m in a positive frame of mind, because our influential brands will soon be free to thrive under new ownership, and our very existence as an independent entity has been a triumph. For once, the journalistic cliché is appropriate: We’ve spoken truth to power. Sometimes uncomfortable truths. Sometimes gossipy truths. But truths."
No, Nick. You are not the hero. You peddle in the misery of others. The "truths" you speak of are petty gossip and sex tapes. You do not care about who you hurt. It doesn't matter if the "power you speak truth to" is a girl getting raped in a bathroom stall or a tech billionaire protective of his sexuality. You just care about the money you get from it.
And man, I support your right to do this. That is the beauty of capitalism: to be able to make money off anything you please. But do not pretend that you are the hero. You prey on the vulnerability and secrets of others. You paint yourself and your subordinates as a legion of Woodwards and Bernsteins, but you're not.
How do we know this? Because when asked about the idea of publishing a sex tape featuring President Obama, Nick said he would not because it was not "newsworthy".
Really? A leaked sex tape of the most powerful man in the world isn't newsworthy? But a video of a 58-year-old professional wrestler nailing his friend's wife is newsworthy?
You are no hero. You are no crusader fighting for the truth. You are a leech.
When you are destitute, you may finally realize it.
