The New York Mag has an extensive piece on Nick Denton, owner of Gawker Media (Jezebel et al), The Demon Blogger of Fleet Street:
Where other media barons see their job as a calling—a chance to do important, perhaps even socially redeeming, journalism—Denton unapologetically worships at the temple of the page view. His ability to ignore his own preferences is, in fact, a key secret of his success. “I don’t think he’s even interested in a lot of stuff [his blogs] write about,” chuckles Gapper. “He always says that the problem with journalists is that they write about things that interest journalists, not the rest of the world.” And what interests the vast majority is, well, sex tapes, new Apple products, and, in the words of Denton himself, “athlete dong".
and this:
Gawker’s shift from emphasizing tabloid-style scoops over jokey riffs has certainly paid off—witness the company’s double-digit growth. It should come as no surprise, then, that Denton’s next move is to head further still in that direction.
I have often wondered about the unchecked racism that goes on in Jezebel and this piece partially answers the question: page views should be placed above ethics and offensive subjects.
I think that more or less settles the issue.
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