UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2017, 2:18 p.m. EDT Gothamist, DNAinfo, and other sister sites were put back online on Friday afternoon.
UPDATE: Nov. 3, 2017, 10:03 a.m. EDT Quartz reports that Gothamist's chief technical officer has said Gothamist's archives were not deleted, and there is a good chance they will be restored.
Billionaire Joe Ricketts has thrown a temper tantrum so big he shut his own company down.
Ricketts—the founder of Ameritrade, whose children own the Chicago Cubs, and whose wealth is estimated at around $2.1 billion—closed down local New York City news sites DNAinfoand Gothamiston Thursday, as well as websites in a variety of other cities including Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.
After a months-long battle, employees at the recently-merged news outlets voted to become members of Writers Guild of America East about a week ago.
SEE ALSO:Topic is First Look Media's big online video effort—but don't call it a pivot"This is a direct retaliation for unionizing," former DNAinforeporter Noah Hurowitz told Mashable. "We stood tall, and they fucked us."
Later, he said DNAinfois the "most badass, toughest group of people I've ever worked with, and we're not gonna run away."
When the employees unionized around a week ago, DNAinforeporter Katie Honan told The New York Timesthat “No one’s trying to bankrupt anybody." She added, "We just want to have an ability to negotiate things, and not necessarily money. If this is the future of journalism, it should be a career for people, not a postcollege hobby.”
Ricketts pleaded a lack of economic viability in a statement on Thursday.
Tweet may have been deleted
The archives for DNAinfo,Gothamist, and other Ricketts-owned sites were inaccessible, and those two sites and all links redirected to Ricketts's statement. In that statement, Ricketts wrote that he believes neighborhood storytelling "remains essential." Just not, evidently, essential enough for him to fund.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Ricketts, a donor to President Donald Trump, had long been the CEO of DNAinfo, but acquired Gothamistand its sister sites in other cities back in March. Around the time of acquisition, Gothamistand Chicagoistdeleted negative coverage of Ricketts.
Journalists -- those who worked there and many others -- were stunned, saddened, and thankful for what the websites had meant to themselves and the communities they'd covered.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
What else is there to say but that.
UPDATE Nov. 2, 6:17 p.m. PT: A new site went up after the Gothamist/DNAinfo announcement: rickettsist.com.
The parody site looks like the now-defunct Gothamist, SFist, LAist, and other local news sites, but features Ricketts. A short intro article says this is "the only site where you can get up-to-date news and information about Joe Ricketts, the owner of some news sites that you can’t access anymore!"
(责任编辑：百科)
Balloon fanatic Tim Kaine is also, of course, very good at harmonicaEverything we think we know about the next iPhoneDancer busts gravityMark Hamill turns Trump's Meryl Streep tweets into a psychotic Joker monologueMom discovers security cameras hacked, kids' bedroom livestreamedWe asked linguists if Donald Trump speaks like that on purpose
Donald Trump may do a good "drunk uncle at Thanksgiving" impersonation at his rallies, but amid all
...[详细]Ronda Rousey got beat the heck down in her first fight in more than a year some 10 days ago. That ma
...[详细]The internet is loving this pizza guy's brutally honest 'sick note'
You know what it's like: You're having a great time day drinking with your pals, when suddenly you r
...[详细]George R. R. Martin hints at a 2017 'Winds of Winter' release date
LONDON -- Okay, there's a big caveat to this one.
。Yes, George R. R. Martin did say in a live journal
...[详细]Amazon's Echo made controlling music with your voice easy-peasy, but its sound quality could be a lo
...[详细]Breaking news: 'Hidden Fences' is NOT an actual film, Michael Keaton
Hidden Figures is a great film. Fencesis also a wonderful film. Hidden Fences, however, is a nonexis
...[详细]Artist father designs awesome lunch bags to help son make friends
We've got a very early contender for father of the year.
。Imgur user DomZombie shared an incredible p
...[详细]Mark Hamill turns Trump's Meryl Streep tweets into a psychotic Joker monologue
Well, Donald Trump's tweets sound completely fitting as monologues from the Joker, so... that's not
...[详细]Singapore gets world's first driverless taxis
SINGAPORE -- The world's first self-driving taxis started picking up passengers in Singapore on Thur
...[详细]Watch the Golden Globes' moving tribute to Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds
"Last year we lost so many legends and icons, but a few weeks ago we lost a mother and daughter with
...[详细]This coloring book is here for all your relationship goals
McDonald's India will now serve masala dosa burger and other local food for breakfast