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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/nyregion/gothamist-dnainfo-deal-wnyc-publish-again.html
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| Gothamist Will Publish Again in Deal With WNYC | Gothamist Will Publish Again in Deal With WNYC |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Three months after being abruptly shut down by its billionaire owner, the New York City news site Gothamist has been bought by New York’s public radio station, WNYC, and will begin publishing again in the spring, WNYC officials said on Friday. | Three months after being abruptly shut down by its billionaire owner, the New York City news site Gothamist has been bought by New York’s public radio station, WNYC, and will begin publishing again in the spring, WNYC officials said on Friday. |
| The acquisition, funded by anonymous donors for an undisclosed price, was part of a group deal that will integrate Gothamist’s satellite sites in Los Angeles and Washington with public radio stations in those cities. | The acquisition, funded by anonymous donors for an undisclosed price, was part of a group deal that will integrate Gothamist’s satellite sites in Los Angeles and Washington with public radio stations in those cities. |
| But Gothamist’s sister New York news site DNAinfo, which had a more straight-news focus than the often irony-laced take of Gothamist, is not coming back, said the head of WNYC’s news division, Jim Schachter. | But Gothamist’s sister New York news site DNAinfo, which had a more straight-news focus than the often irony-laced take of Gothamist, is not coming back, said the head of WNYC’s news division, Jim Schachter. |
| The shutdown last November of the two sites by their owner, Joe Ricketts, which immediately followed votes by the newsrooms to unionize, left a hole in online news coverage of the city. | The shutdown last November of the two sites by their owner, Joe Ricketts, which immediately followed votes by the newsrooms to unionize, left a hole in online news coverage of the city. |
| Mr. Schachter said that the new Gothamist will look very much like the old one. | Mr. Schachter said that the new Gothamist will look very much like the old one. |
| “At the relaunch, Gothamist will operate as it was operating,” Mr. Schachter said. “If you were a Gothamist user, you went to Gothamist.com, you got a Gothamist newsletter, you followed Gothamist on social media — your Gothamist will be back. If you come to WNYC.org, we will find a way to represent Gothamist on our home page.” | “At the relaunch, Gothamist will operate as it was operating,” Mr. Schachter said. “If you were a Gothamist user, you went to Gothamist.com, you got a Gothamist newsletter, you followed Gothamist on social media — your Gothamist will be back. If you come to WNYC.org, we will find a way to represent Gothamist on our home page.” |
| He said that WNYC and Gothamist’s strengths would play well together. | He said that WNYC and Gothamist’s strengths would play well together. |
| “We have a big reporting staff covering local news that Gothamist has never had,” Mr. Schachter said. “Gothamist has a connection with the audience that we have on the radio, but have struggled to find in text and visuals. We think that the two organizations have a real complementary set of skills and assets to bring together.” | “We have a big reporting staff covering local news that Gothamist has never had,” Mr. Schachter said. “Gothamist has a connection with the audience that we have on the radio, but have struggled to find in text and visuals. We think that the two organizations have a real complementary set of skills and assets to bring together.” |
| The news was first reported by Wired. | The news was first reported by Wired. |
| WNYC will also maintain the archives of DNAinfo. | WNYC will also maintain the archives of DNAinfo. |
| Many details of the integration remain to be worked out. WNYC plans to bring aboard Gothamist’s founders — the publisher Jake Dobkin and the editor Jen Chung — and a number of other Gothamist editors, who will work with WNYC journalists to relaunch the site, Mr. Schachter said. | Many details of the integration remain to be worked out. WNYC plans to bring aboard Gothamist’s founders — the publisher Jake Dobkin and the editor Jen Chung — and a number of other Gothamist editors, who will work with WNYC journalists to relaunch the site, Mr. Schachter said. |
| Union representation is also a question mark for now. WNYC’s reporters, producers and hosts belong to the union SAG-Aftra; Gothamist and DNAinfo had just voted to join the Writers Guild of America East when they were shut down in the fall. | Union representation is also a question mark for now. WNYC’s reporters, producers and hosts belong to the union SAG-Aftra; Gothamist and DNAinfo had just voted to join the Writers Guild of America East when they were shut down in the fall. |
| “WNYC has had a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-Aftra for many years, and once we gear up and hire staff we will make any union determinations in accordance with that agreement,” a spokesman for WNYC said. | “WNYC has had a collective bargaining agreement with SAG-Aftra for many years, and once we gear up and hire staff we will make any union determinations in accordance with that agreement,” a spokesman for WNYC said. |
| Mr. Dobkin and Ms. Chung did not immediately respond to requests for comment. | Mr. Dobkin and Ms. Chung did not immediately respond to requests for comment. |
| Gothamist’s Los Angeles site, LAist, will become part of radio station KPCC, and its Washington site, DCist, will become part of the public radio station WAMU. | Gothamist’s Los Angeles site, LAist, will become part of radio station KPCC, and its Washington site, DCist, will become part of the public radio station WAMU. |
| Mr. Ricketts, who founded DNAinfo and who had bought Gothamist from Mr. Dobkin and Ms. Chung last spring but kept them on to run the site, said in a statement that he was glad that the sites had been acquired. | Mr. Ricketts, who founded DNAinfo and who had bought Gothamist from Mr. Dobkin and Ms. Chung last spring but kept them on to run the site, said in a statement that he was glad that the sites had been acquired. |
| “The most important thing for me was to make sure the assets went to a news organization that would honor our commitment to neighborhood storytelling,” he said in a statement. | “The most important thing for me was to make sure the assets went to a news organization that would honor our commitment to neighborhood storytelling,” he said in a statement. |
| Katie Honan, a former DNAinfo reporter who covered Queens, was disappointed to learn that she and her colleagues will not get their jobs back. | |
| “If WNYC is concentrated on primary local reporting in parts of the city that a lot of people don’t report in,” she said, “it’s a shame and a missed opportunity that they wouldn’t want to include DNAinfo on this.” | “If WNYC is concentrated on primary local reporting in parts of the city that a lot of people don’t report in,” she said, “it’s a shame and a missed opportunity that they wouldn’t want to include DNAinfo on this.” |
| Gothamist was cherished by its readers for a knowing, skeptical and drolly amused approach to interpreting and packaging the news, a fairly different approach from WNYC’s. Mr. Schachter said he did not expect that difference in tone to pose problems. | Gothamist was cherished by its readers for a knowing, skeptical and drolly amused approach to interpreting and packaging the news, a fairly different approach from WNYC’s. Mr. Schachter said he did not expect that difference in tone to pose problems. |
| “I have shared WNYC’s editorial guidelines and standards with Jen and Jake and they don’t have hesitation about living with them,” he said. “I don’t expect the voice of Gothamist to sound like the voice of WNYC, and vice versa.” | “I have shared WNYC’s editorial guidelines and standards with Jen and Jake and they don’t have hesitation about living with them,” he said. “I don’t expect the voice of Gothamist to sound like the voice of WNYC, and vice versa.” |