Gawker editors resign after flap over controversial story

Roger Yu | USA TODAY

Gawker Media said Monday its top editors are resigning after a dispute with its owner regarding a controversial story that was removed from the site last week.

Tommy Craggs, executive editor of Gawker Media, and Max Read, editor-in-chief of Gawker.com, sent a letter to staffers informing them of their decision. They edited and approved a story last week that David Geithner, the CFO of Condé Nast, had solicited sex from a gay porn actor. Geithner denied the allegation.

Gawker founder and CEO Nick Denton ordered the story removed from the site after media critics, readers and advertisers objected to the disclosure of an alleged private affair involving an individual who is arguably not a public figure.

Craggs said he offered his resignation Friday to the company's managing partners — Denton; Heather Dietrick, president; Andrew Gorenstein, president of advertising and partnerships; Scott Kidder, chief operating officer; and Erin Pettigrew, chief strategy officer.

"I stand by the post," Craggs wrote in his letter, published on Gawker.com. "Whatever faults it might have belong to me, and all the public opprobrium being directed at Jordan Sargent, a terrific reporter, should come my way instead." Sargent was the author of the story.

Several advertisers, including Discover and BFGoodrich, were ending their business or pausing their campaigns, Craggs said.

In explaining the story removal, Denton wrote Friday that the editorial call to publish it is “a decision I regret.”

“It concerns a senior business executive at one of the most powerful media companies on the planet,” Denton wrote. “Not only is criticism of yesterday’s piece from readers intense, but much of what they’ve said has resonated. I believe this public mood reflects a growing recognition that we all have secrets, and they are not all equally worthy of exposure. …This story about the former Treasury Secretary’s brother does not rise to the level that our flagship site should be publishing.”

While the decision to publish the story generated opposition from some staff writers, much of their anger was directed at Denton for removing it and what they claim is an editorial interference from the business side of Gawker.

"That there would even be a vote (by the managing partners and Craggs) on this was a surprise to me," Craggs wrote. "That is to say, none of the partners in a company that prides itself on its frankness had the decency or intellectual wherewithal to make the case to the executive editor of Gawker Media for undermining (if not immolating) his job."

"The final count was 4-2 (with Heather’s nay joining mine, despite initial reports otherwise)," Craggs wrote.

In his memo, Read wrote: "I am able to do this job to the extent that I can believe that the people in charge are able, when faced with difficult decisions, to back up their stated commitments to transparency, fearlessness, and editorial independence. In the wake of Friday’s decision and Tommy’s resignation I can no longer sustain that belief."