Gawker owner forbids staff from writing about his famous pals

Photo illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Pixabay This is just one of the many scoops in Confider this week, the newsletter that pulls back the curtain on media. Subscribe here to send us your questions, suggestions, and comments.

This is one of many scoops in Confider this week, the newsletter that pulls back the curtain on media. Subscribe here and send us your questions, suggestions, and complaints.

Gawker's revival lasted only 18 months before Bryan Goldberg, CEO of Bustle Digital Group, put Gawker out to pasture. Confider can confirm that Goldberg had an unofficial list containing friends the site was not allowed cover.

Three people familiar with the matter say that Goldberg was involved in the relaunch of the famous site and made it clear that Karlie Klosss and The Chainsmokers, a terrible DJ duo- don't worry about, were his friends. Gawker writers should avoid their coverage of them.

According to insiders, Gawker 2.0's chief content officer Joshua Topolsky left in May 2022. He had been a firewall between edit and business side of the site. Sources claim that Gawker's freelance budget was cut, effectively relegating the site to content that would attract advertisers.

Even after Gawker's death, Goldberg still faces many problems, including with Bustle Digital Group, the union that has been bargaining its first contracts for two years. On Monday, it changed its members' Slack avatars into the union logo, and set their names as "No Layoffs. Fair Contract Now.""Bryan provided Josh Topolsky with a list of people with which he or the company had significant financial connections around the launch. This list was to be made public in the event that it was necessary to disclose. Bryan was not involved in Gawker's editorial operations," Confider was informed by a spokesperson for BDG."Topolsky, Leah Finnegan managed all aspects the Gawker launch and were clear that politics was not going be the main focus of the site. Gawker was affected by the freelance budget cost. This was a company-wide strategy shift that applied to all properties of BDG. It wasn't just for Gawker."