The founder of Gawker Media says that their decision to publish Hulk Hogan’s sex tape is a First Amendment right. Nick Denton appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources and defended their story, which has resulted in a $100 million lawsuit from Hogan.
“This is a case about the freedom of the press, the freedom of the press to report on a story that actually had already been aired by other outlets,” Denton said. “And it’s about freedom of expression.”
Denton acknowledged again that losing the lawsuit would be a nightmare for his company, saying, “We are a successful small to medium sized online media company. Very few media companies keep $100 million in a war chest for this kind of occasion…We are carrying on, on the principle and in the expectation that First Amendment rules in this country, that freedom of the press and freedom of expression is essential to the functioning of a healthy society. Here was a newsworthy story. We dug deeper. We exposed the truth. And we are not embarrassed about it.”
The lawsuit has been delayed from a July 6th start date. Gawker revealed in the lawsuit that it has turned a profit for the last five years; the Wall Street Journal reports that Gawker maintained a $6.5 million operating profit last year on revenue of $44.3 million.
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