For the third time since April 2006 (as he freely admits in the memo obtained by Silicon Alley Insider), Gawker Media publisher Nick Denton has used the worsening economy to justify a restructuring of his sprawling, SoHo-based blog empire.
Published in its entirety, but not dissected by The Insider, the memo hints at what is probably the real culprit, the pageview bonus system instituted in December 2007. The system, soundly criticized by not-long-after teminated Valleywag blogger Jordan Golson, has apparently become too expensive to maintain.
In Denton’s own words: "We’ve been spending $50,000 a month on average on pageview bonuses. The scheme has made writers hustle for traffic even in teams so large that there was a risk they become lumbering."
His solution? Eliminate staff, suspend the pageview bonus system, bring in new writers, and increase those writers’ base pay.
Silicon Alley Insider
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