Why Gawker matters: Bankruptcy auction could make or break the 'voice of a generation'

Gawker Mediais dead, long live GawkerMedia.

The unabashedly snarky gossip blog turned new media empire will be sold to the highest bidder in a bankruptcy auction on Tuesday, along with all of its assets, after losing a years-long court battle and $140 million to wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Depending on who buys it, the salecould spell either death or salvation for Gawker.com and its various popular sister sites.Some analysts havesuggestedthat a buyer might purchase the network for its verticals alone, killing the flagship blogbutkeepingGizmodo, Jezebel,Deadspin,Kotaku, iO9, JalopnikandLifehackerafloat.

Regardless of what happens,GawkerMedia's14-year-long run as an independent media company will come to an end thisweek prompting fans and haters alike to reflect onwhat all of this means for journalism, for theinternet, and for culture on the whole.

Canadian writer andEsquirecolumnist StephenMarche penned one such reflection in aNew York Times op-ed called"Gawker Smeared Me, and Yet I Stand With It."

Among other things, Gawker writers have called him "a terrible writer," put him on a list of the "worst 100 white men," and once insinuated that his wife wanted to stab him.

Still, he defends the outlet'sright to exist.

"What I really appreciateabout Gawkeris that they understood before anyone that celebrity was power," he toldCBC News on Monday."When you look at a person like Bill Cosby, that unexamined power that he inhabited enabled a huge amount of wrongdoing without any kind of examination from the press."

While he doesn't support all of the outlet's choices, he admits that their "sheer guts" and "snark for its own sake" play an important role in today's media landscape.

"We'reliving in a worldthe manipulation of image is triumphant, and they took a decided stand against that,"he said."They pour sand on the grease: everybody being nice to each other, everyone hiring each other's children, this world of connections and Ivy League nonsense... I think it will survive."

'Today's gossip, tomorrow's news'

Even if you haven't visited a Gawker site, don't know any of its writers by name,or recognize trope in this article's headline, you've likely experienced the ripple effect ofGawker Media's impact on news and internetcontent at least a little bit.

Since its humble beginnings in 2002, the one-timeNew York City gossip site had evolved into a legitimate, widely citedsource of breaking news and commentary.

What sets Gawker.com apart, aside from bold choices that sometimes result in lawsuits, is itsuniqueeditorial voice.

Gawker contenthas been called snarky, but it's alsolauded for being clever. It's articulate without being arrogant,hyperbolic without being annoying,anditdrips with as much honesty as it does wit andsarcasm.

Perhaps most importantly, though, it's achampionfor journalistic diligence.

Among its most notablescoops:

• The existence of a video showing then-mayor ofTorontoRob Fordsmoking crack
• Confirming the existence of Hillary Clinton's private email address
• The Deadspinstory about college football starManti Te'o's"fake"girlfriendand the dangers of catfishing
• Doxxing a viciousReddit troll who promoted sexualized images of underage girls online
• Resurfacing decades-old sexual assault allegations againstBill Cosby
• Calling outBuzzfeedfor deleting content, allegedly to pleasesponsors
• Donald Trump's hair might actually bea$60,000 weave

Gawker's commitment to sharing its findingshas earned it legions of fans over the years, but it's also seen the company blasted by hate andrightfully so, some have argued.

"It'snot like these are pure heroes or something like that far from it," said Marcheof the Gawker's more controversial choices."They ran a lot of stories that I would have never run, and that I would consider completely unacceptable and unethical. I think they've been punished severely for that."

Haters and lovers

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thielwasfamously discovered to havebacked Hogan's lawsuit this year after a longstanding public hate-affair with Gawker Media.

The PayPalco-founderandearly Facebookinvestor had been sparring with Gawkersince 2007, when the site published an article called"Peter Thiel is totally gay, people."

Thiel, who is openly gay now, had not revealed his sexuality publicly at the time nor hada married media executive that Gawkersimilarly outed in 2015 by alleging he had arranged to meet a gay escort.

"Valleywag is the Silicon Valley equivalent of al-Qaeda,"Thiel said in 2009of the Gawkernetwork's now-defunct tech industry gossip blog."I think they should be described as terrorists, not as writers or reporters."

Ironically, Thiel and Hogan are also now being accused of unjust viciousness in connection with the case.

Still, despite its legal woes andadmitted mistakes,Gawkerremains an important company in the new media world,both online and off.

"The story of journalism's sad-sack future and long, slow, undignified descent into incoherent and unimportant madness has really only just started to be written," Gawker alumnusFoster Kramer, who is now the executive editor of Mental Floss, wrotein a blog post last week.

"I think everyone who still works in whatever media's about to become next and anyone who holds dear the value of the Fourth Estate will want to make good to Nick on a sincere debt of gratitude for ever opening up shop," he continued.

"And I think this moment, wherein Gawkerdeclares bankruptcy, will be, in that greater history, a watershed."

Employees of the "prototypical millennial media company" becamethe first-ever strictly digital newsroom staffersto unionize last June,setting off a chain reaction that saw others follow (or at least attempt to follow) in their footsteps.

The companyis also making money in a way that, by and large, does not appear to be alienating readers, and its legal troubles which have sucked upsaid money are sparking wider discussions around the world aboutpress freedom and the influence of wealth on legal rulings.

Who could buy Gawker?

Digital media companyZiffDavis submitted a "stalking horse" opening bid of around $100million back in June afterGawkerfiled for bankruptcy, but the New York Timesreported onSundaythat"adozen to two dozen parties" have sinceexpressed interest in Tuesday's auction.

Among those potential bidders are Vox Media (The Verge, SB Nation,) New York Magazine (NYMag, Vulture,) Univision (Fusion, The Root,) and Penske Media (WWD, Variety).

While Gawkerfounder andCEO NickDenton seems set on a purchase byZiff Davis, whoever is willing to pay the mostcouldacquire Gawker Media today. That partywill likely walk away happy with the investment, as well.

TheGawkernetwork currentlypulls in about100 millionpage views a month, according to the company's careers site.

Played well, that kind of traffic can translate into some serious cash and does especially with such an engaged and youthful readership demographic.

But it's not just a matter of "baitingmillennials"withlisticlesand quizzes makingGawkersuccesful.

"We have always put editorial credibility ahead of short-term commercial considerations, resulting in what we have internally called the 'Gawker Tax' on our advertising revenue,"Denton wrotein ablogpost published Monday, noting thatthecompany'se-commerce programwas responsible for nearly $200 million in sales for its advertisers this year."That tax has generally been worth paying."

"The proposition that journalism should be an honest conversation between writers and readers has permitted us to build a solid, even enviable, business," he continued."Without exceptional legal and professional fees related to the Thiel campaign, the business is profitable."