The people who commented at Gothamist were witty without being twitty. There was a sense of community you could sense, even if you were just reading the comments. I hope they will again have a home at the new site.
2
Something sounds hinky here. WNYC buys a brand and two principals who were bought off by the Ricketts operation, and probably can’t talk about it. And WNYC has financial and organizational issues. All of this for a lefty blog that was full of repurposed stuff from elsewhere and dubious reporting?
8
excellent news. hopefully, dnainfo will be revived at some point down the road...
2
Thank you WNYC for bringing back Gothamist. It's been sorely missed. One can only hope it will report as it did before the rug was pulled from under it. DNAinfo is missed, but at least its archives are preserved.
4
Great news! I really missed it!
5
Anonymous donors--if you're reading this, thank you so much.
Gothamist is back and that's great but we need to ensure the quality is maintained--though I think it should be increased. Please allow it to have original content communicated via text and photos, not videos or memes. Please make it a blog where authors are writers and not aspiring influences. And please allow comments.
I hope the employees will be treated fairly and that it will be a sustainable site.
4
the union and the staff at Gothamist were kept in the dark about the deal and only 3-4 people will be re-hired. a good deal for the former owners, Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung, and what looks like a rotten deal for the former staff.
9
What about SFist in San Francisco? Will that get revived - perhaps under KQED?
What about Chicagoist? Or is Mr. Rickets keeping that so it doesn't cover his Cubs?
That is great news. Haven't read an article about the city's Best Pizza joints on at least ten minutes.
But seriously we need as much local news as possible--serious or not. So welcome back Gothamist. We hardly knew ye.
3
Oh this has made my day in a way that could only be topped by news that Trump himself has been indicted by Robert Mueller's investigation. As someone who typically visited Gothamist daily, I have thoroughly missed its news articles. Something else to look forward to in the spring besides vastly improved weather!
3
Interesting and compassionate reporting, as usual, Mr. Newman; however, the elephant in the room of course is the question of: why did the New York "Times" not acquire these news organizations/ websites for its hyper-local strategies. It would have made sense economically and strategically (in my opinion).
Keep up the great work, and glad to have your talent on the Media Beat.
JBP
1
Who are the journalists pictured here? Are the journalists who fought for unionization a part of Gothamist's new deal?
2
It’s like hearing the news an old friend is coming home after an extended absence. Welcome home Gothamist, sorry to hear DNAinfo won’t be joining you.
4
DNAinfo was THE place to read about subjects not covered by more mainstream local media. It was the meat to Gothamist's potatoes....but I like potatoes as well.
5
It's WNYC...a New York City public radio station. Gothamist is about NYC. Why would anyone expect them to pay to bring back SFist too?
1
wow. this is SUCH GREAT NEWS !!!! omg. gothamist is THE site I go to every single day ! yayyyy
4
Excellent news.
3
it's a shame that DNAinfo, the best local reporting ever, is not coming back.
but “I don’t expect the voice of Gothamist to sound like the voice of WNYC, ..."
is the best part of this glass-two-thirds-empty story. it will be good to have an alternative to the neo-McCarthyite so-called public radio.
1
The shutting down of the Gothamist and DNAinfo demonstrates the problem with concentrated wealth in America, Joe Ricketts of TD Ameritrade is so rich he could buy both and shut them down to harm the labor movement. In a more just society, that would not be able to happen.
8
I have never been happier or prouder to be a WNYC contributor. Gothamist's departure has left a real void in local news.
3
Yes! And LAist is going to our local NPR station KPCC. I despise what this billionaire, anti-worker pro-Trump thug did to these great local news websites and though he's making some money on the deal, to hear they're being revived and sold to local public radio is a sign of hope that anti-democratic, strongmen-loving soulless oligarchs like this guy can't kill the Fourth Estate, no matter its form whether paper, broadcast, or online.
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-kpcc-laist-20180223-sto...
1
This is a fortuitous bit of news
Returning a bit of the internet's
Possibility (swiped by rich folks' dues)
[Now lets hope the posh act'ally free it]
This is great news - I have missed both Gothamist and DNAinfo. They both covered local stories missed by other publications, like this one. And fast - they got the story fast.
Sorry about DNAinfo..invaluable.. but welcome back Gothamist!
13
Glad to hear this news but wish that DNAinfo was included in the deal...Gothamist is great for coverage of higher profile local events and news, but DNAinfo was absolutely essential in keeping up with the happenings in my neighborhood. I have missed them both, but the latter especially.
17
It's sad that SFist isn't included in the deal.
5
Excellent news.
7
Looking forward to the return of Gothamist NYC. The site really fills a need for local reporting.
15
How exactly does a website get "shuttered"? Another vastly overused word.
2
Thank you, WNYC, for bringing Gothamist back! We need local journalists that we can rely on to tell us what's going on in NYC.
22
Thank you, WNYC, and I hope you give Gothamist workers the union they deserve and have earned. Sad that DNAinfo won't be so lucky, but any counterpunch to Joe the Plunderer is necessary and welcome—and shows that the Ricketts Spite Shutdown was an unnecessary attack on websites he could more than easily afford to give a living wage with his own money, nevermind that from TD and other corporate profits.
14
No mention of the future for SFist.com ? Was this included or mentioned in any part of the deal?
1
I'm delighted. I found Gothamist informative AND maddening—a good representation of NYC at its best.
5
Good news!
1
Very good news! I missed Gothamist and am glad it 's coming back.
13
This is wonderful news. Hopefully SFist will be coming back as well?
1
LAist is going to KPCC here in LA. Maybe check in with your local public radio station and encourage them to follow the lead of WNYC and KPCC?