Gawker founder Nick Denton told staffers that the site will be “20 percent nicer” when it relaunches Monday.
At a Brooklyn bar meeting Thursday, Denton told staff the site needed to soften some its takedown reputation slightly, first suggesting the 20 percent number, which he later downgraded to “10 to 15 percent” nicer than the old one, according to Capital New York.
He also reiterated his vow to offer full severance pay to employees who choose to resign over a controversial story about a Conde Nast executive’s intended gay porn romp. This offer comes as the company will move into new offices on Fifth Avenue early next week.
Denton will send further details about the severance offer to staff in a memo Friday.
When asked who his dream editor to replace Max Read — who along with executive editor Tommy Craggs resigned in protest Monday — Denton said he’d love to hire Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Atlantic senior correspondent and author.
It’s been a tumultuous week for Denton and Gawker after an avalanche of criticism torpedoed the site in the wake of its story about a Conde Nast executive’s risqué communication with a gay porn star and that star’s effort to exploit him for help with a housing dispute.
Although the majority of Gawker’s non-editorial management voted in favor of taking down the story, Denton said he had the final decision-making power and was ashamed that his site posted the story.
Editorial staffers revolted, angered with non-editorial managers deciding on whether to keep a story up or not. This frustration was highlighted on Monday when editor-in-chief Max Read and executive editor Tommy Craggs resigned.