Five things we learned from Gawker’s update about the Rob Ford crack video
In a lengthy post last night, Gawker editor John Cook revealed some bad news about the campaign to buy the Rob Ford crack video: the video’s owner says it’s “gone.” (He also added: “Leave me alone.”) Here, the five big takeaways from Cook’s play-by-play.
1. “Gone” doesn’t necessarily mean gone for good.
Cook doesn’t know whether the video has been destroyed, handed over to the Fords, seized by police or in the hands of Toronto Somali community leaders or a different media outlet. (We hope it’s the last option—maybe Toronto Star editor Michael Cooke was trying to hint at something on Monday?). The owner could also be lying to try to get a respite from relentless reporters, and it’s unclear whether there’s a second copy (the intermediary between Gawker and the owner originally said there was, although not in Toronto).
2. Gawker blames CNN…
Cook took another swipe at CNN for telling a former Ford staffer about the video in early May, which forced Gawker to publish its account for fear the Ford camp (or other media outlets) would scoop them. He says publishing “lit a match on this story that made it much more difficult—and maybe impossible—to get a deal done and bring the video to the light of day.”
3. …and the Toronto Star.
He also exacerbated his mini-feud with the Star, accusing the paper of giving away details that allowed others to identify the video’s owner, thereby making it even harder for to complete a confidential deal.
4. The Somali community pressured the owner not to sell.
Another Star faux pas: repeated and unnecessary references to the nationality of the drug dealers involved. The offended Somali ethnic community, which reportedly has ties to and supports Ford, put pressure on the owner to get rid of the clip.
5. In real life, $200,000 actually means $184,689,81.
Gawker raised $201,254 through its Indiegogo campaign, but subtracting $8,365.23 in PayPal fees, Indiegogo’s cut of $8,043.96, and $155 in unpaid contributions, that leaves just $184,689,81 for buying videos of politicians doing drugs. No wonder the seller decided to call it off.
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/city/five-things-gawker-crack-video/&title=Five things we learned from Gawker’s update about the Rob Ford crack video&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/rob-ford-2-624x395.jpeg&description=[caption id="attachment_217473" align="aligncenter" width="656"] (Image: Christopher Drost)[/caption]
In a lengthy post last night, Gawker editor John Cook revealed some bad news about the campaign to buy the Rob Ford crack video: the video’s owner says it’s “gone.” (He also added: “Leave me alone.”) Here, the five big takeaways from Cook’s play-by-play.
1. “Gone” doesn’t necessarily mean gone for good.
Cook doesn’t know whether the video has been destroyed, handed over to the Fords, seized by police or in the hands of Toronto Somali community leaders or a different media outlet. (We hope it’s the last option—maybe Toronto Star editor Michael Cooke was trying to hint at something on Monday?). The owner could also be lying to try to get a respite from relentless reporters, and it’s unclear whether there’s a second copy (the intermediary between Gawker and the owner originally said there was, although not in Toronto).
2. Gawker blames CNN...
Cook took another swipe at CNN for telling a former Ford staffer about the video in early May, which forced Gawker to publish its account for fear the Ford camp (or other media outlets) would scoop them. He says publishing “lit a match on this story that made it much more difficult—and maybe impossible—to get a deal done and bring the video to the light of day.”
3. ...and the Toronto Star.
He also exacerbated his mini-feud with the Star, accusing the paper of giving away details that allowed others to identify the video’s owner, thereby making it even harder for to complete a confidential deal.
4. The Somali community pressured the owner not to sell.
Another Star faux pas: repeated and unnecessary references to the nationality of the drug dealers involved. The offended Somali ethnic community, which reportedly has ties to and supports Ford, put pressure on the owner to get rid of the clip.
5. In real life, $200,000 actually means $184,689,81.
Gawker raised $201,254 through its Indiegogo campaign, but subtracting $8,365.23 in PayPal fees, Indiegogo’s cut of $8,043.96, and $155 in unpaid contributions, that leaves just $184,689,81 for buying videos of politicians doing drugs. No wonder the seller decided to call it off.){kind=link}
wahahaha big f yous to gawker star globe toronto life and all other haters out there you lose! give it up all you dorks did was guarantee rob fords re election! LUV IT MANE!!!!!!! hahahaha
I agree completely with this comment.
George W. Bush, your grammar and spelling certainly has come a long way!
While the first commenter could benefit from grammar lessons to drive his points home more effectively, he’s completely right. Unfounded attacks on the Fords from various people and groups in order to further their personal agendas have become a mundane occurrence in the city of Toronto. All they do is serve to further emphasize Ford’s resilience and alienate them from the vast majority of the rational voting public. Most of the “outspoken” critics of ford seen within social media are riding the bandwagon and do not represent the general public.
Toronto is too full of crack everywhere ..sadly , when someone gets sad or hits rock bottom they turn to drugs …people shouldn’t be so quick to judge even good people make mistakes .. we are all accountable for our sins ,you have yours I have mione He has his , as long as your not hurting anyone ,, but all is life’s lessons hope he learning it and its time to move on and away from the drugs .. the cops dont truly worry do much about marijuana cause they shouldn’t ..its the harder drugs that are of concern because of the nature it brings out in people , so many here speak as if they know , none you know until you live threw it ,either you know someone with an addiction or you are addicted , dont kick people when they are down help them to bring them back up , just like you would want people to do for you .,
sip on the haterade biznatch
Could be that daddy’s money rescued Rob Ford yet again.
I do not care for most of the politicians anyhow simply because they do not have any respect for life ,most of them are corrupt and brainwashing people.
its the LOVE of money and power that’s the root of all evil ,I do not believe any of us need them to survive nor do we need to be part of this monetary system to survive ..it really is a fake world made up by someone’s thoughts on how it should be .Im sure billions of us could do better without any of these people ,who we pay their pay cheques with our tax dollars .. all so they can tell people how to live ,what to eat what to wear .in the end is killing us anyways .,All we need is God and how he says to do it
the first two days in, the video would’ve disappeared.. logically, a pre-emptive coup would’ve been successful if done quickly.. who do you think would’ve picked it up.. that’s the question.. answers anyone..
I find the constant attacks on Rob Ford a disgrace on the perpetrators of gossip and innuendo and lies who launch them. The attacks are so frequent and unfounded that they are almost comical if they weren’t so loathesome (and boring, by the way.) No wonder the Bible labels slander as such a big, big sin. Because it is.
its not by our works we are saved , not by what we do or dont do , its faith , you believe just a little in God that’s what saves the soul ,period!
people need to learn that ! Gods word is what we all need to learn and live by!! Nothing else , not religion not ourselves , Jesus is Lord even in hell ..so what does all this really matter in life , its all public just cause hes a public figure yah , but there are thousands if not more addicted to the devils drug/s , even people who know God get caught up in drugs it happens , the enemy attacks us when we are weak! Hopefully we can learn our lessons without making bad decisions in life !
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/45e1db187b/leaked-rob-ford-crack-smoking-video
Exactly took the words right out of my mouth
Oh my gosh – wt heck – what a dumb video :D – lol
Someone got paid off! Now there is talk of him getting security! Why would this big f-t lump of lardship need security? We need security to keep him away from us. He is a pathetic person masquerading as a mayor of our city which is an embarassment to the non-yahoos who did NOT vote for him.He needs to quit or we need to fire him now. I am so happ ythat even Paul Ainslie has apparently seen the light and is no longer one of his boys! Best thing he ever did!
We all make mistakes yes, but do we not learn from our mistakes and not repeat them over and over.
Are we not going to hold anyone accountable for their behavior at some point when they simply mouth apologies but not make changes in their lives for the better.
Media is what it is , they sell papers and let’s face it , Rob has given them lots to work with.