7 ms·

Gawker Media founder to file for personal bankruptcy

56 points by iamben 10y ago

pg_is_a_butt 10y ago
someone make sure to get a video of them crying and distribute it to the world as "news"
pkinsky 10y ago
Hopefully we'll see less tabloids outing people for advertising revenue in the future.
geofft 10y ago
I hear that the greatest people that you read about every day in business have used the laws of this country, the chapter laws, to do a great job for their company, for themselves, for their employees, for their family, etc.
darkarmani 10y ago
> raised alarm bells in U.S. media circles over the prospect of wealthy individuals using the courts to muzzle the press Is that really true? What legitimate media outlet thought this was about muzzling the press? Libel has never been allowed.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- NEDM64 10y ago
  That's because you are reading from a journalist. They are like a mob in this case. You're obviously right, it's libel, full stop. And Hulk Hogan didn't win because he had Thiel money, he won because he was right, and if Gwaker would win, it would be because of money, and that would be something anormal.
  - spyspy 10y ago
    > [Journalists] are like a mob in this case. That's fairly hyperbolic. The press tends to be defensive due to the long history of attacks it's had to withstand to do their jobs.
    - zeveb 10y ago
      > The press tends to be defensive due to the long history of attacks it's had to withstand to do their jobs. They also tend to be fairly expansive in defining what exactly their jobs are, e.g. demanding protections to overlook and ignore criminal behaviour that no other citizens have. I'm not terribly sympathetic here: journalists should have exactly the same rights and responsibilities that every other citizen has, period.
      - NEDM64 10y ago
        They aren't even real journalists, they just own a .com domain.
  - huac 10y ago
    > You're obviously right, it's libel, full stop. Libel requires falsehood. That's not the case here.
    - NEDM64 10y ago
      Invasion of privacy, doesn't matter. It's a crime against Hulk Hogan and whomever was on that tape.
erdevs 10y ago
I wonder how much this will actually affect Denton. Often people file bankruptcy as a means of protecting their assets, as opposed to accepting that they have none. I think Denton/Gawker were and are a net disservice to society. But they're also far from the worst or most egregious examples of the archetype of a say-anything-for-money tabloid. What do others think of Thiel's hand in all this? On one hand, I respect it. Well-played, thus far. On the other hand, it isn't good that a select few (the extremely wealthy) can wield so much influence when other less wealthy people who may have been similarly wronged simply cannot. Equal opportunity and equal justice, etc. That lack of equality is likely a symptom of our costly and cumbersome legal system, though. Also, anyone think this will blow back on Thiel? Perhaps Denton can countersue? Perhaps behaving this way will have costly knock-on effects elsewhere in life or business?
- Lawtonfogle 10y ago
  As for the impact of the wealthy... I don't see any new issue here worth worrying about. The only thing that changed is we see someone pretty wealthy getting crushed by someone extremely wealthy. There is a level of the rich that have found themselves the prey of an even larger predator, and only now do they start caring who gets preyed upon. If anything I'll enjoy watching them fall to a larger version of their own sword.
  - huac 10y ago
    cool, the rest of us don't savor the ability of the uber-rich to erase Others from the face of the earth (some might even call them super-predators!)
- bradleyjg 10y ago
  Assuming he's a NY resident, the laws here are not particularly generous. For example, our homestead exemption for a married couple tops out at $331,100. I don't really understand all the ins and outs of chapter 11 bankruptcy (it is more commonly used by companies than individuals) but I don't think he is going to be able to retain all that much wealth if the judgment ends up standing. On top of that he'll have to pay all "disposable income" to creditors for five years.
jedberg 10y ago
I want to feel bad. I really do. I have a lot of journalist friends and they have made cogent and reasonable arguments about how this will set a precedent that will quell their speech. Even if they are reporting something that isn't libelous, they will always fear in the back of their mind that a wealthy person who doesn't like them will bring a case against them that will bankrupt them, even if what they wrote was legit, just through having to defend themselves. On the other hand, I don't like Denton or Gawker because they have no ethics. I was personally harmed by them when they decided to make their hobby doxxing controversial reddit users, and I know someone whose life was completely destroyed by Gawker but didn't have the money to sue. I'm also not a fan of the fact that a lot of their early content was literally them reposting reddit content without permission. So if this were anyone else with any other media organization, I would totally be on their side and agree that this is a travesty of justice that Theil was able to fund this lawsuit. But for Denton and Gawker? Good, they deserve to go down in flames. Edit: I would like to add that some of those journalist friends work for Gawker Media, are upstanding, ethical, and wonderful people, and will most likely loose their jobs, and I feel terrible for them. It's just a few bad eggs at Gawker that ruined it for everyone, but it came from the top (Denton).
- whatok 10y ago
  > Even if they are reporting something that isn't libelous, they will always fear in the back of their mind that a wealthy person who doesn't like them will bring a case against them that will bankrupt them, even if what they wrote was legit, just through having to defend themselves. So I keep reading this argument but am having a hard time accepting it because it's acting like Thiel is somehow the first person to think of something like this. If you think this will become widespread as a result of Thiel's actions, why is it not widespread already? You could make the argument that media outlets (or really anyone) were just never made aware of who was actually financing lawsuits but I'm more than certain that if it was widespread that someone would have looked into it by now.
  - jedberg 10y ago
    I think in part because it's well known and also because this might be the first time it's been specifically stated as a personal vendetta.
Overtonwindow 10y ago
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
jondubois 10y ago
Denton took some big risks and should have seen it coming. The ironic thing is that in 5 years' time, this guy will probably be rich again. In fact, he probably just transferred all his assets to foreign accounts. The whole Gawker vs Hulk Hogan saga just shows what a joke the whole system is. It's painful to live in this society and have to breathe the same air and survive on the same currency as these people.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  >he probably just transferred all his assets to foreign accounts. Wouldn't that be a crime, if done just prior to filing for bankruptcy? I don't know the US legislation so well, but I would expect it to work that way. (Over here (Finland), there is no personal bankruptcy in the same sense; debts stick even if debtor has no assets, though there is a sort-of-Chapter-13 arrangement with some expiry provisions in 15 years).
jezzerat 10y ago
Oh, boo hoo, poor violentacrez.
- jedberg 10y ago
  And this is why Gawker makes money. Because as long as they are treating people you don't like poorly, it's ok?
  - Eridrus 10y ago
    Didn't you just say that this situation is fine because you dislike Gawker? Good level of cognitive dissonance there.
  - djanyreason 10y ago
    Dude, wasn't the entire point of the above post that you're okay with Thiel's behavior because you don't like Denton?
  - abz126 10y ago
    Well, you're okay with what's happening to Gawker because you don't like them. Nice double standard.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- dang 10y ago
  We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12206015 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12206015 and marked it off-topic.

56 points by iamben 10y ago

pg_is_a_butt 10y ago

someone make sure to get a video of them crying and distribute it to the world as "news"

pkinsky 10y ago

Hopefully we'll see less tabloids outing people for advertising revenue in the future.

geofft 10y ago

I hear that the greatest people that you read about every day in business have used the laws of this country, the chapter laws, to do a great job for their company, for themselves, for their employees, for their family, etc.

darkarmani 10y ago

> raised alarm bells in U.S. media circles over the prospect of wealthy individuals using the courts to muzzle the press Is that really true? What legitimate media outlet thought this was about muzzling the press? Libel has never been allowed.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
NEDM64 10y ago
That's because you are reading from a journalist. They are like a mob in this case. You're obviously right, it's libel, full stop. And Hulk Hogan didn't win because he had Thiel money, he won because he was right, and if Gwaker would win, it would be because of money, and that would be something anormal.
- spyspy 10y ago
  > [Journalists] are like a mob in this case. That's fairly hyperbolic. The press tends to be defensive due to the long history of attacks it's had to withstand to do their jobs.
  - zeveb 10y ago
    > The press tends to be defensive due to the long history of attacks it's had to withstand to do their jobs. They also tend to be fairly expansive in defining what exactly their jobs are, e.g. demanding protections to overlook and ignore criminal behaviour that no other citizens have. I'm not terribly sympathetic here: journalists should have exactly the same rights and responsibilities that every other citizen has, period.
    - NEDM64 10y ago
      They aren't even real journalists, they just own a .com domain.
- huac 10y ago
  > You're obviously right, it's libel, full stop. Libel requires falsehood. That's not the case here.
  - NEDM64 10y ago
    Invasion of privacy, doesn't matter. It's a crime against Hulk Hogan and whomever was on that tape.

erdevs 10y ago

I wonder how much this will actually affect Denton. Often people file bankruptcy as a means of protecting their assets, as opposed to accepting that they have none. I think Denton/Gawker were and are a net disservice to society. But they're also far from the worst or most egregious examples of the archetype of a say-anything-for-money tabloid. What do others think of Thiel's hand in all this? On one hand, I respect it. Well-played, thus far. On the other hand, it isn't good that a select few (the extremely wealthy) can wield so much influence when other less wealthy people who may have been similarly wronged simply cannot. Equal opportunity and equal justice, etc. That lack of equality is likely a symptom of our costly and cumbersome legal system, though. Also, anyone think this will blow back on Thiel? Perhaps Denton can countersue? Perhaps behaving this way will have costly knock-on effects elsewhere in life or business?

Lawtonfogle 10y ago
As for the impact of the wealthy... I don't see any new issue here worth worrying about. The only thing that changed is we see someone pretty wealthy getting crushed by someone extremely wealthy. There is a level of the rich that have found themselves the prey of an even larger predator, and only now do they start caring who gets preyed upon. If anything I'll enjoy watching them fall to a larger version of their own sword.
- huac 10y ago
  cool, the rest of us don't savor the ability of the uber-rich to erase Others from the face of the earth (some might even call them super-predators!)
bradleyjg 10y ago
Assuming he's a NY resident, the laws here are not particularly generous. For example, our homestead exemption for a married couple tops out at $331,100. I don't really understand all the ins and outs of chapter 11 bankruptcy (it is more commonly used by companies than individuals) but I don't think he is going to be able to retain all that much wealth if the judgment ends up standing. On top of that he'll have to pay all "disposable income" to creditors for five years.

jedberg 10y ago

I want to feel bad. I really do. I have a lot of journalist friends and they have made cogent and reasonable arguments about how this will set a precedent that will quell their speech. Even if they are reporting something that isn't libelous, they will always fear in the back of their mind that a wealthy person who doesn't like them will bring a case against them that will bankrupt them, even if what they wrote was legit, just through having to defend themselves. On the other hand, I don't like Denton or Gawker because they have no ethics. I was personally harmed by them when they decided to make their hobby doxxing controversial reddit users, and I know someone whose life was completely destroyed by Gawker but didn't have the money to sue. I'm also not a fan of the fact that a lot of their early content was literally them reposting reddit content without permission. So if this were anyone else with any other media organization, I would totally be on their side and agree that this is a travesty of justice that Theil was able to fund this lawsuit. But for Denton and Gawker? Good, they deserve to go down in flames. Edit: I would like to add that some of those journalist friends work for Gawker Media, are upstanding, ethical, and wonderful people, and will most likely loose their jobs, and I feel terrible for them. It's just a few bad eggs at Gawker that ruined it for everyone, but it came from the top (Denton).

whatok 10y ago
> Even if they are reporting something that isn't libelous, they will always fear in the back of their mind that a wealthy person who doesn't like them will bring a case against them that will bankrupt them, even if what they wrote was legit, just through having to defend themselves. So I keep reading this argument but am having a hard time accepting it because it's acting like Thiel is somehow the first person to think of something like this. If you think this will become widespread as a result of Thiel's actions, why is it not widespread already? You could make the argument that media outlets (or really anyone) were just never made aware of who was actually financing lawsuits but I'm more than certain that if it was widespread that someone would have looked into it by now.
- jedberg 10y ago
  I think in part because it's well known and also because this might be the first time it's been specifically stated as a personal vendetta.

Overtonwindow 10y ago

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

jondubois 10y ago

Denton took some big risks and should have seen it coming. The ironic thing is that in 5 years' time, this guy will probably be rich again. In fact, he probably just transferred all his assets to foreign accounts. The whole Gawker vs Hulk Hogan saga just shows what a joke the whole system is. It's painful to live in this society and have to breathe the same air and survive on the same currency as these people.

ptaipale 10y ago
>he probably just transferred all his assets to foreign accounts. Wouldn't that be a crime, if done just prior to filing for bankruptcy? I don't know the US legislation so well, but I would expect it to work that way. (Over here (Finland), there is no personal bankruptcy in the same sense; debts stick even if debtor has no assets, though there is a sort-of-Chapter-13 arrangement with some expiry provisions in 15 years).

jezzerat 10y ago

Oh, boo hoo, poor violentacrez.

jedberg 10y ago
And this is why Gawker makes money. Because as long as they are treating people you don't like poorly, it's ok?
- Eridrus 10y ago
  Didn't you just say that this situation is fine because you dislike Gawker? Good level of cognitive dissonance there.
- djanyreason 10y ago
  Dude, wasn't the entire point of the above post that you're okay with Thiel's behavior because you don't like Denton?
- abz126 10y ago
  Well, you're okay with what's happening to Gawker because you don't like them. Nice double standard.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
dang 10y ago
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12206015 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12206015 and marked it off-topic.