nick denton

Court examines Gizmodo devices for iPhone info

Authorities have finally begun examining the computers, server, and other electronic gear seized from a Gizmodo editor as part of the investigation into a missing iPhone prototype.

Stephen Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County, told CNET on Wednesday that a court there had appointed a "special master" to search the items seized from the home of Jason Chen in late April. The court has asked the special master to collect only information that pertains to Gizmodo's dealings with an iPhone prototype that the blog purchased for $5,000.

In March, an Apple employee lost … Read more

Gray Powell's father: 'He was devastated'

The father of Gray Powell, the Apple engineer who reportedly lost a prototype of the iPhone 4G, says his son was reeling following the incident.

"Of course he was devastated," Robert Powell told CNET in a phone interview Wednesday. "He loves the company."

Gray Powell, 27, finds himself in the middle of media frenzy after losing a handset that appears to be a next-generation iPhone, a device that has yet to be released or even acknowledged by Apple. We've been trying to reach the younger Powell directly and passed along an interview request through his … Read more

Did lost iPhone lead to blog bidding war?

There was no bidding war between Gizmodo and Engadget over the now-famous, misplaced iPhone 4G, Joshua Topolsky, Engadget's editor in chief, told CNET on Tuesday.

Engadget managers never tendered an offer for the leaked phone, never were sure of the legality of buying it, and, of course, never got their hands on the device, Topolsky said.

Instead, as is well-known by now, it was Gizmodo and its parent company, Gawker Media, that were willing to buy the phone from an unnamed source for $5,000 and detail the device's features in a story.

The handset appears to be … Read more

How Gizmodo got its iPhone scoop (Q&A)

The unnamed person who now famously found the lost prototype iPhone approached both Gizmodo and Engadget, rival technology blogs, with an offer. Gizmodo came away with the device.

How Gizmodo and parent company Gawker Media ended up in possession of what appears to be a prototype of an unreleased and as-yet-unannounced iPhone 4G is just one of the burning questions answered Tuesday by Gawker CEO Nick Denton in an interview with CNET.

On Monday, Gizmodo published photos and analysis of what Denton and editors there said is the next generation of Apple's era-defining iPhone. Apple has bolstered Gizmodo's … Read more

Gawker to absorb Defamer gossip blog

Updated at 4:35 p.m. PST with Denton e-mail.

Gawker Media has apparently had a change of heart regarding the sale of its Defamer gossip site and decided to fold it into the larger company.

Nick Denton, founder and president of Gawker Media, announced the move Sunday in a company blog:

It's Oscars day, a good a time as any to do this: Hollywood gossip site Defamer is being merged into Gawker, the company's flagship gossip title. The four-year-old title will continue as Gawker's entertainment column; the movie-industry stories will remain showcased on Defamer.com but … Read more

End of a snarky era: Gawker shuts down Valleywag

On the same day that he published a detailed missive about his dire predictions for the online ad market, Gawker Media overlord Nick Denton made public his decision to shut down Valleywag, the blog network's Silicon Valley gossip title. Valleywag was launched early in 2006.

Valleywag editor Owen Thomas will have his job folded into a column on the Gawker.com flagship title, a gossip blog focused primarily on the New York media industry. Denton explained in an e-mail to CNET News that Thomas will remain full-time and that the Valleywag brand (as well as Valleywag.com) will stay … Read more

Gawker Media slims its blog network

This post was updated at 8:46 a.m. PDT.

New York blog czar Nick Denton, founder and publisher of Gawker Media, is selling three of the new-media company's properties: Idolator, Gridskipper, and Wonkette.

In an internal e-mail obtained by CNET News.com, Denton explained the sale: "To be blunt: they each had their editorial successes; but someone else will have better luck selling the advertising than we did."

When asked via instant message to comment on prices, Denton replied with "Nope!"

Music blog Idolator will be sold to Buzznet, the pop culture social-media site … Read more

Report: Facebook threatens to ban Gawker's Denton

This post was updated at 9:11 a.m. PST with comment from Nick Denton.

Facebook isn't too happy with Gawker Media founder Nick Denton over some screenshots of a member's profile that he posted on Gawker.com on Tuesday, Portfolio.com reports. The social-networking site reportedly plans to send a warning letter to the New York-based digital-media entrepreneur citing several terms-of-service violations--one more, and he's out.

Facebook representatives were not immediately available for comment.

On Tuesday, Denton--who took over as managing editor of Gawker.com this month after several staff departures--posted a bit of an expose … Read more