Gawker Shut Down by Bustle Digital Media Group, Again

Awful news.
Photo: Bustle Digital Group

Just a year and a half after being brought back to life by Bustle Digital Group (after being killed by Bustle Digital Group), Gawker is once again going back to the media gravesite. “Well, after an incredible 1.5 years, BDG has decided it is done with Gawker 2.0,” editor-in-chief Leah Finnegan wrote on Twitter on February 1. “Can’t say enough about how proud I am of the site and all the brilliant people who worked to create it, and what a staggering shame this is. I had an absolute blast, and I love you.” The revamped site’s features editor, Brandy Jensen, quote-tweeted, saying, “If you owe me a draft i’m really sorry but they cut off my email access lmao.”

Max Tani of Semafor reported on the same day of Gawker’s cut that BDG was also laying off “8 percent of staff.” This isn’t the first BDG site to get the axe. The Outline got cut in 2020, and in 2022, Input was completely closed while Mic lost a number of staffers. This marks the third time Gawker has been shut down. There was the “new” Gawker, which was acquired by BDG and then had its “relaunch” abruptly canceled in 2019. And then there was OG Gawker — it started in 2002 and 14 years later had to be sold off (along with all of Gawker Media) to Univision for $135 million after being bankrupted by a Hulk Hogan and Peter Thiel tag team. Maybe she’ll rest in peace this time.