In the last year, Ms. Dietrick, who has both a law degree and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, has had to try to steer the company through one crisis after another.

Last month, the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel acknowledged in an interview with The New York Times that he was financially supporting the Hogan lawsuit and other legal cases against the company. That put Gawker at the center of a First Amendment battle that has captivated the media world while highlighting a deepening chasm between an ascendant technology industry and a journalism business buffeted by financial challenges.

In the interview on Saturday, Ms. Dietrick said that Gawker began seriously considering filing for bankruptcy once Mr. Thiel’s involvement in the Hogan case became known.

The pivotal moment came on Friday at around 11 a.m., after a hearing in which a Florida judge affirmed the $140 million judgment in the Hogan case and granted Gawker’s request for a stay, but under conditions that the company found too onerous, Ms. Dietrick said. The conditions included allowing Hulk Hogan, whose real name is Terry G. Bollea, to get liens on the company’s assets.

Gawker had considered the option of filing for bankruptcy within a few days, Ms. Dietrick said. But as its lawyers in Florida provided updates on the hearing by phone, she and Mr. Denton decided the company could not wait any longer because they feared it would be unable to continue to operate otherwise.

“The timeline was pushed forward a little more quickly than we expected,” Ms. Dietrick said on Saturday. “As of yesterday, it was inevitable that we were going to go through with the sale.” The company still plans to appeal the judgment.