Gawker Media's new owner tries to wipe the slate clean
Univision, the new owner of Gawker Media, has deleted several posts that are the subject of litigation as it tries to repair the online brand's reputation.
Univision Communications, the new owner of Gawker Media Group, has deleted six posts from the online publisher that are the subject of litigation, Reuters reported Saturday.
Univision, which bought Gawker for $135 million in a bankruptcy proceeding last month, said it wants to create a "clean slate" for the site, according to a memo from company executives that Reuters obtained. Gawker Media went into bankruptcy in June after a court ordered it to pay $140 million for invading the privacy of former wrestler Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, after it published excerpts from Bollea's sex tape.
Gawker.com, the site known for celebrity and media gossip, shut down on August 22. Univision is integrating the remaining Gawker Media assets into the Fusion Media Group.
The six posts Univision has decided to delete were published on three Gawker Media-owned sites: Deadspin, Jezebel and Gizmodo. They include stories about a man who sued Gawker over its reporting of his claims that he invented email, about former major league pitcher Mitch Williams and about a man acquitted of sexual assault.