Racket, the publication Matt Taibbi was hired to run for First Look Media, is officially over. After less than a month of “exploring next steps” for the project in the wake of Taibbi’s somewhat dramatic departure, First Look founder and eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar has decided to shut it down.
Here’s the statement posted to FirstLook.org on Tuesday:
Since Matt Taibbi’s departure, we’ve been working with the team he hired to consider various options for launching a project without him. After multiple explorations, we’ve decided not to pursue the project. Unfortunately, this means that the team Matt hired will be let go.
Though their tenure was brief, we appreciate the passion and energy each member of the team brought to the workplace, not to mention their hard work on behalf of Matt’s original project. We wish them all the best.
This is a terrible thing to do just before the holidays, especially to the people who gave the internet Racket Teen.
