Gawker Media’s websites, particularly its flagship Gawker website, are notorious gossipers.
Gawker in many ways is an equal opportunity attacker, but two of its highest profile stories were sexualized attacks against conservative female politicians.
Wonkette, known for going after Michelle Malkin, Sarah Palin and other conservative women, was started by Gawker Media but spun off in April 2008.
In June 2010, a Gawker writer who formerly worked for Wonkette helped spread rumors (which originated at Wonkette) that Sarah Palin had breast enlargement surgery. Gawker was able to push typical Wonkette trash talk into the mainstream.
In October 2010, Gawker published an alleged description of then Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell’s pubic hair based on accounts from someone who said he spend the night (but did not have sex) with her three years earlier. The story, shortly before the election, went viral and then some. Gawker defended the story.
It’s not just Gawker. Another Gawker Media website, Jezebel, caused outrage recently when it published rape photos.
Nick Denton, the owner of Gawker Media, is proud of running these types of stories, as he told NBC’s Rock Center in a recent profile (Brian Williams apparently is a friend of Denton):
Given all the attacks on advertisers who advertise on the Rush Limbaugh show or other conservative talk radio shows, one has to wonder why the companies below — who are highlighted on Gawker Media’s advertising page — do not apply such standards of civility and civil discourse to Gawker Media?
Of particular interest was Ford Motor Company, which was included in a list of companies which allegedly had instructed Premier Networks not to run its ads on conservative talk radio for fear of controversy. I have e-mailed Ford both to confirm it will not advertise on conservative talk radio and that it advertises on Gawker Media sites, but have not heard back.
At the end of the day, the point is not that advertisers should quite Gawker, it’s that there is a complete double standard. Sexualized, unapologetic attacks on conservative women simply are part of the accepted landscape.
Update: Think Progress has published the list of 98 advertisers asking to be excluded from conservative talk radio because they have “environments likely to stir negative sentiment from a very small percentage of the listening public.” Notice any overlap with those advertising with Gawker?
Premiere Networks List Of Advertisers Asking Not To Advertise On Limbaugh And Other Right-Wing Hosts
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Comments
“Given all the attacks on advertisers…one has to wonder why the companies below…do not apply such standards of civility and civil discourse to Gawker Media?”
A PERFECTLY rational question that some of us will undertake to answer this week!
Also ironic is the fact that these companies are in the business of directly supporting hardcore pornography, as Gawker Media publishes the (Link NSFW) Fleshbot blog, which quite explicitly discusses and promotes the products of America’s hardcore pornography industry. I had previously been informed in graduate school that we’re supposed to frown at pornographers for exploitation of women.
But Fleshbot’s “sex positive”, which is okay among at least some of the feminists, I guess. And, more importantly, Fleshbot has a hard (heh heh, I said “hard”) left perspective, which is all that matters. If you object to pornography for conservative reasons, like Rick Santorum does, then you’re a jerk!
I do believe that “sex positive” culture (nope)…thinking (nope)…er…that it includes a “SLUT”-owning concept, where reclaiming “slut” is a desired end goal.
Fairness requires me to offer this correction: Gawker Media sold its Fleshbot blog in February 2012. So those leading American companies traded with the pornographer Gawker Media through just a few days ago without regrets, but no longer do so.
I would wager that advertising on Gawker is less “controversial,” at least partially, because they have a very small audience. I don’t know anyone, even my way-left-prog friends, who read Gawker. And I only know about it from reading this and other conservative sites who point out the idiocy of Gawker.
Shining some more light on Gawker and Ford hopefully can change that and make the advertisers show at least a little bit of consistency in how their standards are applied.
Hey, look, Gawker Media has helpfully provided a list of its famous advertisers. I am surprised to see wholesome American companies Apple, Disney, Ford, KFC, Target — even the NFL and NBA! — sponsoring a publisher of hardcore pornography. If they were spending their money with Larry Flynt Publications we’d sure hear about it.
I would love to see conservatives make these companies reconsider their sponsorship at Gawker now that Rush Limbaugh isn’t allowed to express his opinions freely.
NFL cheerleaders ARE soft porn.
Mmmmm… Soft and WARM…
shame gawker owns kissingsuzykolbert and deadspin.
What’s getting me frustrated is that now even FNC’s reporters / presenters are showing their individual Socialist bias when presenting so-called news stories. J. Colby and B. Hemmer did a marvelous job this morning portraying news stories in the best way to highlight Obama’s views on things.
One aspect of FNC that first attracted me was that while it was obvious that some presenters might have been left leaning, the stories they mentioned were presented in a straight forward manner; basically just the facts, information without opinion. That approach seems to have died at FNC, now becoming more and more just another member of the MSM.
The advertisers don’t care what Rush says … they care about the negative advertising and threats they get from the left.
Perhaps they will have to learn the hard way that sales are hurt when they conform to the radical left.
Major media is more willing to attack Rush than Gawker, so it will be harder for conservatives to take the left’s approach. But the hypocrisy and double standard should be very apparent to any neutral party.
Actually, with such a competitive market for the ever shrinking disposable dollar, it is not hard to choose a company that doesn’t support left wing groups. Take my choice in not purchasing a Heinz product; how many other companies made similar products, often at a cheaper price?
ShePac goes on the counter attack at least as regards to Maher: http://goo.gl/O9jdS
Takinng some time to review the list of advertisers that Gawker has, I was hard pressed to find any company that I currently do business with. Yes, I have some products from companies on that list, but the last company I did business with was Sony (a year ago when I finally bought my first flat screen).
But there are companies that I stopped doing business with years ago:
Heinz – for obvious reasons
Target – because they refused to allow the bell ringers from the Salvation Army to stand in front of their doors (a decision later changed)
HBO/Showtime – when it took on Bill Maher. I no longer subscribe to HBO, or any movie channel.
Best Buy – Best Buy built a new store in my area. It opened at Christmas time, and I was told by a local who went to work there that they were not allowed to say “Merry Christmas.” But a few months later, Best Buy recognized a Islamic holiday in its weekly flyer. Now, there are few Muslims in my area so I questioned the manager about it and he said that it was a corporate decision. I had just purchased a new laptop from the store, but had not set it up yet. So I drove home, got the laptop and returned it telling the manager that I would not buy from a store that could not recognize a holiday that was even recognized by the federal government, and that I would advise all my friends, neighbors, etc., of the policies of Best Buy.
Home Depot – Home Depot is a sponsor of a national soccer team: the Mexican soccer team. No si se puede. I only shop at Lowe’s. For one thing, you must provide your birth certificate or legal immigration papers to Lowe’s before you will be hired and Lowe’s has a rule against allowing illegal construction workers from using their parking lots to harrass people for jobs. Home Depot will allow them.
GE – I stopped purchasing any GE product when I learned that nothing made by GE is made in the U.S. Not one damn thing. Curious since Obama put Jeffrey Immelt on his “job creation” team.
Companies may made decisions to advertise with entities like Gawker if they want. And I will make the decision to spend my disposable income with companies that don’t.
“…advertisers should quite Gawker…”
Small nit – believe you meant “quit”
The listed “hoity-toity” advertisers who indulge in hypocrisy need a good old fashioned slap up the side of the head from the market place, aka lost sales.
Sexualized, unapologetic attacks on conservative women simply are part of the accepted landscape.
They are only because many have refused to call out the hypocrisy of the advertisers.
It’s time to fight back. http://macsmind.com/wordpress/2012/03/conservative-action-alert-contact-these-companies-and-ask-them-why-their-not-advertising-to-you/
[…] Gawker more acceptable than conservative talk radio for advertisers? – Given all the attacks on advertisers who advertise on the Rush Limbaugh show or other conservative talk radio shows, one has to wonder why the companies below — who are highlighted on Gawker Media’s advertising page — do not apply such standards of civility and civil discourse to Gawker Media? […]
[…] William A. Jacobson points out the outrageous double standards on the part of the mainstream media very and advertisers. See the list of advertisers below. […]
I just received a response from American Express. How many ohters on that list are not true?
“We appreciate you reaching out to us to address this situation. We would like you to know that at no time did American Express or our media buying agencies send a letter to Premiere Radio Networks or its parent company, Clear Channel Communications, providing any direction concerning adverting placements, and specifically related to conservative radio programming. As a result of your communication, we have reached out to our media partners to correct any miscommunication and reconfirm that that they are not limiting the placement of our advertisements.”