Denton Gives Up On Defamer Sale; Folds Brand Into Gawker
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
Nick Denton continues to consolidate Gawker Media brands under the Gawker.com roof, this time folding in formerly for-sale Defamer.com. In a post Sunday afternoon, Denton explained: "In December, Gawker Media sold Consumerist to the Consumer Association, publisher of Consumer Reports. At the same time we announced we'd had a bid for Defamer and were exploring a sale of the site. Ultimately, the brand was worth more to us as a section of the Gawker site."
Denton describes Gawker.com as a "national gossip now" with three-fourths of its 3-plus million visotrs a month coming from outside New York. The site has expanded political coverage (since the dumping of Wonkette, now an indie site), the inclusion of Silicon Alley coverage from Valleywag, which he folded as a standalone site late last year, and now the addition of Hollywood coverage by Defamer, which will be Gawker's "entertainment column." The current Defamer team is leaving; a Gawker reporter will be assigned and Gabriel Snyder, the managing editor of Gawker now responsible for Defamer, is hiring another reporter.
By Staci D. Kramer