Splinter, the closest thing we had to the memory of the original Gawker, is calling it quits.
A new report by The Daily Beast‘s Maxwell Tani says the site wasn’t bringing in enough traffic.
Tani tweeted of Splinter‘s parent company, G/O Media: “In an email to staff just now, G/O’s editorial director said ‘despite the hard work of everyone on that staff…establishing a steady and sustainable audience for a relatively young site proved challenging in a fiercely competitive sector.'”
Editorial Director Paul Maidment sent an email to staff. He stressed that no one would loose his or her job as a result of this decision. He claimed that “the goal” would be to reallocate the writers. The Daily Beast story says that some staffers have already been laid off. So far, media writer Jack Mirkinson and Sam Grasso have lost their jobs.
The news of reallocating writers explains why one of Splinter‘s top editors can be all jokey at a time like this.
Katherine Krueger, Splinter‘s managing editor, chastised Tani.
“Max I beg you it’s called Splinter not Splinter News lol I promise I’ll never tweet this again,” she wrote lightheartedly.
Tani’s story refers to Splinter as just “Splinter.”
Splinter‘s Editior-in-Chief Aleksander Chan poured out his emotions in blood.
“It has been my greatest honor to have been the editor of this site and I will love this staff to my dying breath,” Chan tweeted. “Thank you to all of our readers, fans, and haters — it’s been a thrill.”
News Editor Paul Blest seems to not believe this is really happening.
“I can’t say enough how proud I’ve been to work with people I’ve admired for years, the level of work we were able to do with the resources we were given, and the union that we’re all part of,” he tweeted. “Long live Splinter.”
Hamilton Nolan, a senior writer covering politics for Splinter, put out a plea for someone to hire the writers who may be losing their jobs. (Gawker Is Praised For Its ‘Courage’)
Mirkinson cracked, “Hire all of us! And hire Hamilton too duh.”
Nolan, a mainstay at Gawker and Splinter, announced his own layoff. “For the first time in a decade, I’m on the job market,” he wrote, adding, “Unionize your workplace.” (RELATED: Charles Johnson Offers To Buy Gawker For $350)
More seriously, Mirkinson tweeted, “It’s true! Splinter is shutting down and we’re all being laid off. This is by far the best job I’ve ever had and I will be forever proud of everything we’ve done together.”
He also claimed they told all the “right people” to fuck off.
“We did something unique and wonderful at Splinter,” Mirkinson wrote. “We were funny and fearless and unashamedly left-wing and we had the right enemies and we told all the right people to fuck off and we did it all while under immense corporate pressure. It was a great website.”
Gawker staffers had a history of raising hell. In 2015, some employees boycotted a company holiday party when the site outed Condé Nast’s CEO. They also paid a heavy price for their brashness. In 2018, former President Trump aide Jason Miller filed a lawsuit against Gawker Media Group for $100 million for reporting that he gave a stripper an abortion pill against her knowledge.
Gawker was forced to shutter in 2006 after wrestler Hulk Hogan won a $141 million verdict. The basis of the lawsuit was that Gawker published a sex tape of Hogan fornicating with Heather Clem, the now ex-wife of Bubba the Love Sponge.