Recession Brings Rough Times for Kotaku Parent Company

Recession Brings Rough Times for Kotaku Parent Company

October 6, 2008

The parent company of top video game blog Kotaku is girding for tough economic times.

Silicon Alley Insider reports that Gawker Media CEO Nick Denton axed 19 (of 133) employees late Friday. Those getting the chop toiled for blogs apparently judged less competitive by Denton, including Valleywag and Consumerist (a GP favorite).

Kotaku is in no jeopardy, and is actually getting more writers, as Denton explains in a letter strategically leaked on Friday:

You can guess the reason for these brutal measures: the recession... But now the credit crisis is clearly going to affect every sector of the economy. Advertising buys typically plunge after the Christmas shopping season, and 2009 is obviously going to be exceptionally difficult. We have to prepare for the worst, now, rather than when the worst comes upon us...

 

One reason we're eliminating these positions is to reinforce the teams on the sites with the most commercial appeal—Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker and Gawker—and the properties such as Jezebel, io9, Deadspin and Jalopnik which are poised to join them.

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Comments

Re: Recession Brings Rough Times for Kotaku Parent Company

Kotaku has enough writers as it is. Half of them I only see once a month or so anyway. It's not like it will improve the quality of content. Especially after the recent bruhaha over "Respectability."

Re: Recession Brings Rough Times for Kotaku Parent Company

I was really surprised to see writers being cut from Consumerist. While it does lack Commercial appeal, it is one of the most reader valued sites they have. You would think they would take care of that.

E. Zachary Knight
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Re: Recession Brings Rough Times for Kotaku Parent Company

Everyone please go read the Consumerist. They are truly making some serious headway in SHAMING some of these terrible companies in to doing the right thing for consumers.

It's my favorite blog in the internet and one that actually benefits people.

Re: Recession Brings Rough Times for Kotaku Parent Company

It's saddening to hear about the consumerist writer pool being trimmed, they should add more.

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