The main thing here is Gawker wasn't simply a "stupid tabloid". It was an EVIL site. It ruined lives and might've been responsible for at least one suicide.
Gawker wasn't just inane and low-brow, it was a destructive force of evil.
It also needs pointing out (endlessly until it sinks in) that in this very case Gawker tried to use the fundamental economic injustices built into the U.S.A. legal system to its own advantage, but that then things backfired rather dramatically. A pretty clear cut case of someone being hoisted by their own petard, frankly.
Could you elaborate for the people who haven't been following the case?
A lawsuit like the one that made Gawker bankrupt is very expensive for the claimant, and Gawker used that, knowing than most of the people they targeted couldn't afford to sue them.
But, Peter Thiel, in fight with them since years (and with no lack of money), bankrolled the Hogan lawsuit against them (Hogan couldn't afford it by himself). In most countries, you cannot do things like that, the ourt would disallow Thiel funding Hogan lawsuit.