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Superstorm Sandy knocks out Gawker and Huffington Post Superstorm Sandy knocks out Gawker and Huffington Post
(35 minutes later)
Several of the most popular US news and gossip websites, including Gawker and Huffington Post, went offline overnight because of a New York power outage caused by post-tropical storm Sandy.Several of the most popular US news and gossip websites, including Gawker and Huffington Post, went offline overnight because of a New York power outage caused by post-tropical storm Sandy.
The websites were knocked offline at about 7pm New York time on Monday after the electricity supplier ConEdison cut power in parts of lower Manhattan, where many are hosted. The websites were knocked offline at about 7pm New York time on Monday after the electricity supplier ConEd cut power in parts of lower Manhattan, where many are hosted.
Huffington Post worked around the blackout by publishing a cut-down front page, as well as updates on Twitter and Facebook – including a a hand-drawn "front page" – while the gadget site Gizmodo valiantly ran a liveblog despite the technical glitches. Sandy battered the US east coast overnight with more than 10 fatalities reported and more than 7 million people left without electricity. President Obama has declared a "major disaster" in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey.
The Matthattan power cuts hit several popular US websites, including Buzzfeed and Gawker, as Sandy battered the US east coast overnight with more than 10 fatalities reported and more than 7 million people left without electricity. President Obama has declared a "major disaster" in New York City, Long Island, and New Jersey. Huffington Post worked around the blackout by publishing updates on Twitter and Facebook – including a hand-drawn "front page" – while the gadget site Gizmodo ran a liveblog despite the technical glitches.
The Matthattan power cuts hit several other popular US websites, including Gawker and Buzzfeed.
Buzzfeed said elements of its website and many stories were back online via content delivery service Akamai, which has servers around the world. The website was back online on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday Huffingtonpost.com was operating a cut-down version of its main front page. A message stated: "Due to power outages caused by Superstorm Sandy, our own website is experiencing technical difficulties. We are working around the clock to get the site back to normal. The news team, which has offices around the US and in other countries, is still monitoring everything and will be updating this page with the latest on the storm."
Stephen Hull, the executive editor of Huffington Post UK, said his website turned to social networks to report on the hurricane.Stephen Hull, the executive editor of Huffington Post UK, said his website turned to social networks to report on the hurricane.
"Firstly, our thoughts are with everyone in the US and other countries the region who have been hit by Sandy. In the UK we are now publishing directly to Facebook, Twitter and RebelMouse to bring Huffington Post and AOL readers the same quality of service we always do," he said."Firstly, our thoughts are with everyone in the US and other countries the region who have been hit by Sandy. In the UK we are now publishing directly to Facebook, Twitter and RebelMouse to bring Huffington Post and AOL readers the same quality of service we always do," he said.
"Part of HuffPost's approach is to link to other great pieces of journalism and we are doing exactly that, while creating our own content on social networks. We'd encourage everyone to start following us if they want a unique way to follow the news and keep the conversation about the impact of Sandy going.""Part of HuffPost's approach is to link to other great pieces of journalism and we are doing exactly that, while creating our own content on social networks. We'd encourage everyone to start following us if they want a unique way to follow the news and keep the conversation about the impact of Sandy going."
The websites appear to have fallen victim to the widespread electricity outage in lower Manhattan, which in turn affected the internet service provider (ISP), Datagram, whose servers host BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, Gawker and others. The websites appear to have fallen victim to the widespread electricity outage in lower Manhattan, which in turn affected the internet service provider Datagram, whose servers host Huffington Post, Gawker, BuzzFeed and others.
Buzzfeed reported that an official at Datagram told the site: "Basement flooded, fuel pump off line – we got people working on it now. 5 feet of water now." Buzzfeed reported that an official at Datagram told the site: "Basement flooded, fuel pump offline – we got people working on it now. Five feet of water now."
Other major media outlets were also hit. The Manhattan local news channel NY1 went off the air for a couple of hours on Monday evening, and the NPR station WYNC had to run on a backup generator. Other major media outlets were also hit. The Manhattan local news channel NY1 went off the air for a couple of hours on Monday evening, and the NPR station WYNC was forced to run on a backup generator.
The Manhattan office of Guardian US, closed since Sunday, lost power at around 9pm local time. Staff maintained live coverage of the worsening storm as they worked from various locations around the city until midnight, New York time, when the live blog was handed over to the Guardian's office in Sydney, Australia. Guardian US's servers are based in the UK. The Manhattan office of Guardian US, closed since Sunday, lost power at about 9pm local time. Staff maintained live coverage of the worsening storm as they worked from various locations around the city until midnight New York time, when the live blog was handed over to the Guardian's office in Sydney, Australia. Guardian US's servers are based in the UK.
Several newspapers in cities affected by Sandy dropped their paywalls to offer readers breaking news on the storm's impact, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and Baltimore Sun.Several newspapers in cities affected by Sandy dropped their paywalls to offer readers breaking news on the storm's impact, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and Baltimore Sun.
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