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In other words, G/O media had effectively broken the redirect at Deadspin2.com, so that the site now redirected to a dead link. The private equity firm was able to snap up the deal for only about $25 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the figure. Spanfeller said he asked for the survey; Rogers said he wrote it; and editorial director Paul Maidment said he didnt approve it, but he told Deadspin editor-in-chief Megan Greenwell that he did not attempt to stop it from running on the site when he was filled in shortly before it was scheduled to go up. In the midst of the fallout, former Deadspin, Gawker, and Jezebel editor Emma Carmichael had a spirited discussion with [former Jezebel writer] Clio Chang on the overwhelming herbishness of Jim Spanfeller, she told me over the phone. The Deadspin takedown covered numerous issues that have arisen since Univisions sale of the company to Great Hill, ranging from accounts of Spanfeller screaming at past employees, to allegations that the new G/O Media boss is on-boarding his old media buddies over highly qualified women who have worked at the company for years, along with numerous other accusations of mismanagement. For the last two questions, the options were the same: Uncompromising commentary, sports stories I cant find anywhere else, knowledgeable writers, broad scope of coverage, political coverage and strong political point of view, and criticism and coverage of other media companies.. Amid the chaos, someone edited Spanfeller's Wikipedia entry to read, "Jim Spanfeller is a fart-faced fascist best known for running Forbes.com from 2001-2009." (That language has since . He started screaming at me, Who told you you were allowed to speak about audience? in English Literature in 1979 and went to work as a reporter for the SoHo Weekly News. That distinction quickly sparked backlash in late 2019, when the staff of Deadspin resigned over the firing of a top editor and the company's mandate that the site stick to covering sports. The four women who Spanfeller counts as major hires include two he hired (head of talent and deputy counsel); one he promoted from within to executive managing editor; and a yet-to-be-filled position he says he plans to offer to a woman. Political affiliation means the state of belonging to or endorsing any political party. Never mind the flood of negative stories about staff blowback over the company's editorial direction. The mess at G/O Media - Columbia Journalism Review Deadspin's entire editorial staff is gone - The Washington Post I read that she's a registered Republican in Texas. G/O Media lawsuits: Two former exec allege discrimination - CNN Jim Spanfeller Biography. Gov. ), The internal reaction to these hires has ranged from confusion to anger. Over the last few weeks, during their attempts to hinder or prevent the publication of this story, Maidment and Spanfeller invoked concerns about Deadspins credibility in covering G/O Media. 4 Dumb Ways Your Favorite Sites Are Dying | Cracked.com And I didnt know what Sean was doing. One of the former staffers said that as companies sought to double down on diversity and inclusion during the summer of 2020, the branded content team received incoming requests from companies hoping to fund content for The Root, G/O Media's Black news publication. Other top employees who have left the company since the start of Spanfellers reign include former A.V. Jim Spanfeller Biography & Works of Art | Qart.com Spanfeller Media Group - Wikipedia Opinion | A clash of values at former Gawker Media sites Throughout his career he has recieved more than 60 awards for his work from such . Gizmodo Media Staff Enraged at New CEO's 'Insane' Direction At least have everybody well briefed on this is what were doing and this is what wed like to learn from it, Reibstein said. Dead and spun: a story in three meetings - Columbia Journalism Review Political party affiliation trends based on location. Spanfeller, who became head of the digital media company when GMG was purchased by private equity firm Great Hill Partners, told staff that he expected the site's direct advertising to "take the. (Pontius declined to comment. Like many media companies, G/O Media's advertising business was battered by the pandemic. In his email to the staff, Spanfeller described this story as one that had been commissioned by the site, and attempted to paint the reporting process behind it as haphazard and unfair. When Jim Spanfeller and a private equity firm called Great Hill Partners took over G/O Mediaformerly Gizmodo Media Groupin April, their stated goal was to make the company profitable. Who even told you you were allowed to think about audience? the woman alleged. Gaffney and Spanfeller said that G/O Media is looking for acquisitions itself. He previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President . A senior vice president who has worked for what is now G/O Media for four and a half years met with Spanfeller in the companys Chicago office shortly after he purchased the company in April. A week after Spanfeller insisted to Varietythat he did not plan to cut our way to growth, the CEO fired 25 employees, including in top positions, such as axing former Gizmodo Media Group editorial director Susie Banikarim. It will post an eight-figure operating profit this year, he told Insider, and hunt for acquisitions in 2022. Lastly, I firmly believe, personally, that Jim Spanfeller is a herb. Vacillating Wildly From Dispiriting to Exhilarating. 15 Life Hacks That Are Actually Pretty Good 17,580. "We have billions of dollars available to go out and buy and make this a bigger company, and that would really be our desire," Gaffney said. Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Cramer finally reveals whether he is pro-Trump or anti-Trump - CNBC According to sources familiar with the situation, the Onions union sent a letter to Spanfeller asking that he help provide a plan for the site and fill the vacuum left by top leadership. "The fact that we could acquire it at a price that would make it one of our smallest investments is that good or bad? (Spanfeller says this is inaccurate and that he did consider other candidates for the editorial director role, but Paul quickly rose to the top after he expressed an interest in the position.) Three of the men Spanfeller hired were installed over successful women who had been at the company for years. The VP had a call with McAvoy and Spanfeller to discuss the process, asking Spanfeller why he hadnt even reached out to her about the position. Nearly two dozen current G/O Media employees spoke to Deadspin for this story. It is ridiculous to launch a management survey questioning the editorial value of the site. McAvoy described the SVP of marketing job as a combination of sales strategy, account management, and managing creative teamsall responsibilities that fell under the SVPs purview. Most recently, after the latest edict that Deadspin stick to sports, its writers revolted, and Spanfeller retaliated by firing the top-ranking employee, Petchesky (Deadspins latest editor-in-chief, Megan Greenwell quit in August for many of the reasons described above). While we were given a 3pm deadline today to respond to dozens of questions, I understand that the folks at Deadspin have already submitted their story for legal review and plan to publish it on Wednesday all without ever seeing any of the responses to the questions that they asked. According to sources familiar with the situation, the tech team was instructed by Knight, who was directed by Spanfeller, to push out the survey without consent from anyone in editorial. She said Spanfeller didnt have many questions for her, describing him as apathetic. Spanfeller seemed not to recall this interaction, telling Deadspin that the sales team was not covering direct clients.. 2. He would stop into peoples offices with the doors open and scream at them, so everyone knew what was going on., 5. "[17], "Great Hill Partners Agrees to Acquire Gizmodo Media Group", "Great Hill Partners Acquires Gizmodo Media Group", "President & CEO, Jim Spanfeller Named as IAB Chairman", "Alumni Album: Helping Us Connect to the Web", "Advertising; 4 Young Executives On Move at Newsweek", "Playboy Hires 2 New Execs; Title of Publisher Goes to 1", "New Gizmodo boss Jim Spanfeller is an old school digital media vet", "After Days Of Resignations, The Last Of The Deadspin Staff Has Quit", "Deadspin Is ZombifiedBut Gawker's Content Warriors Fight On", "The Media-Sensational Rise and Fall of "Jim Spanfeller Is a Herb", "GMG Union votes no confidence in G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jim_Spanfeller&oldid=1074755870, This page was last edited on 2 March 2022, at 00:52. WV Gov. Justice switching political parties, returning to GOP Never mind the recent exodus of company leadership under his tenure, including the editorial director, chief financial officer, and chief revenue officer. In an emailed statement to Deadspin, Spanfeller claimed that he did not make the hires, but admitted to making professional introductions for some of these new employees. Mr. Spanfeller has a BA in English Literature from Union College, Schenectady, New York. It wasn't Great Hill's first foray into the media business it had previously invested in IGN and sold Ziff Davis but the G/O deal was a tiny one for a firm that describes itself as "targeting investments of $25 million to $500 million.". The Onion Union, which represents AV Club staffers, told Insider in a statement that it hoped "this period of prosperity creates tangible benefits for all of our members especially those whose jobs are being moved to Los Angeles, one of the most expensive cities in the world.". Never mind that employees called for his resignation last year. [2], In 2019, G/O Media's sports blog Deadspin received media attention when all of its writers and editors resigned after an edict given by upper management to "stick to sports". These actions are clearly management attempting to target, and even intimidate, staff into changing their editorial stance in spite of our contract-protected independence, especially as it comes on the heels of managements repeated attempts to kill this story as it was being reported about the company. Katie then refused to assume the HR lead role around other wider layoffs at the company. [12], Spanfeller took over as CEO of G/O Media when Great Hill Partners purchased the company, formerly known as Gizmodo Media Group, and The Onion from Univision on April 8, 2019, and combined the companies. As traffic dipped and employees headed for the exits, staffers at the company wrote a letter to Great Hill asking that Spanfeller be replaced as CEO. While the archived version of the post did not preserve the original images, you can view a PDF of the original post below. [4] He soon switched to the business side of the paper, and later took a tour through Europe. At the same time, working with the EICs to set a general editorial direction is clearly in the purview of any owner.). Takeaways From Deadspin's Expos of G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller I think the thing thats most strange about it is that they didnt coordinate with the editorial side of the business. Naturally, we were dismayed to discover one more problemthe survey placed on Deadspin. He is currently the CEO of G/O Media which consists primarily of sites that were previously part of Gawker Media. Heres The REAL Clip, Christian Walker GOES OFF on Predator Matt Schlapp for Allegedly Groping Male Campaign Staffer: Hes Done This Before, Im Sure!, LOL. In one instance in which Spanfeller tried to promote a woman within the company, his offer came with strings attached. That the story has been submitted for legal review without the benefit of our responses leads me to the conclusion that the piece is already fully written and that our responses to questions are mere window dressing. The post, published Tuesday evening, proved wildly popular on Twitter. Two other major jobs Spanfeller gave to women include his new head of talent and deputy counsel, which were both outside hires; he did give a promotion to one woman, who he made deputy editorial director. These two highly talented HR executives then met with a number of people around our company including representatives of the unions., When asked why Spanfeller didnt follow this thorough search process before filling seven key positions with his former coworkers, he blamed his hiring practices on the financial shape of the company. Successfully sold . Shortly after Spanfellers email was made public, Deadspin editor-in-chief Megan Greenwell issued a statement in response to his accusations that the reporting process was unfair: We are in an ongoing reporting process and planning to publish the story when it is ready. G/O Media workers went on strike today in part to protect remote work. Six days after the SVPs exchange with McAvoy, Spanfeller sent an email to the entire staff announcing G/O Medias new company values. I was sorry and that is accurate, he said. The tech team managed to execute the move in about a month, but before they had finished, Spanfeller changed course and decided that the developers should build an entirely new video platform and player from scratch, explaining the decision by saying that that was what he did at Forbes, according to employees involved.