CN may be bad, but this guy isn't exactly the epitome of professionalism
(edit: also not sure if the reddit guys will be up for both cheeseburger owners and cheeseburger wages: http://gawker.com/5488509/inside-the-low+paying-cheezburger-...)
The gawker article was pure tabloid junk, quoting anonymous sources who were disgruntled ex-employees. Compensation was always at market rates, entry-level positions had entry-level pay, while professional positions had professional pay.
He's not perfect, he's young and is still making mistakes (I still think firing me was a big mistake, for example, but I can't really talk about that) but don't discount his professionalism.