Deadspin Staffers Are Quitting En Masse [UPDATE]
Multiple Deadspin staffers announced their resignations on Wednesday, as the site's battle with its G/O Media bosses intensified. It has been a tumultuous week for the website as the internal struggle between the business side and the editorial side has spilled into the public eye.
Earlier in the week an internal memo from the editorial director of G/O Media, Paul Maidment, leaked. In it, Maidment demanded Deadspin staffers "stick to sports." The editorial team took exception to that and, given that the site's soul has always been closely attached to pop culture and politics, it makes complete sense.
The editorial team also took exception to the new autoplay ads being displayed on the site and penned a post letting readers know they objected to them. That post was quickly taken down by the bosses. It has been a week of unprecedented friction on the site.
The exodus of staffers began on Tuesday, as long-time editor Barry Petchesky was fired by CEO Jim Spanfeller for "not sticking to sports."
Hi! I’ve just been fired from Deadspin for not sticking to sports.
— Barry Petchesky (@barry) October 29, 2019
It continued today as Laura Wagner, Kelsey McKinney, Tom Ley, Lauren Theisen, Patrick Redford, Albert Burneko and Chris Thompson all took to twitter to announce they're out:
Just now I resigned my position at Deadspin today along with many of my colleagues. I have been here only five months but they have been some of the best of my career and I will miss it deeply.
— kelsey mckinney (@mckinneykelsey) October 30, 2019
.@barry no longer works at Deadspin and that means I no longer work at Deadspin. Bye!
— MALIK BEASLEY SZN ?? NUGGETS 82-0 (@ToLey88) October 30, 2019
I quit today too https://t.co/W7meIcW0Cx
— Laura Wagner (@laurawags) October 30, 2019
hi, so I'm leaving Deadspin. it's been the best two and a half years of my life, but it's time to move on
— Lauren Theisen (@theisen95) October 30, 2019
I will also be leaving Deadspin. It was the best four years of my life, and I will miss my pack of wild dogs dearly.
— patrick (@redford) October 30, 2019
i have quit my job at Deadspin.
— Prince Perspiro (@MadBastardsAll) October 30, 2019
I've resigned from Deadspin.
— Dracubert Nosferatko (@AlbertBurneko) October 30, 2019
Early Thursday morning, Drew Magary, arguably the most prolific writer in the site's history, announced his resignation. Dan McQuade is also leaving.
I resigned from Deadspin this morning. That was a fun time you and me had there all those years, wasn't it? Let's do it again sometime.
— Drew Magary (@drewmagary) October 31, 2019
Deadspin’s new owners wouldn’t publish my Wildwood boardwalk t-shirt column this summer. I should have quit months ago, instead of just now.
— Dan McQuade (@dhm) October 31, 2019
The Gizmodo Media Group Union issued a statement about the resignations on Twitter:
A statement about the resignations at Deadspin. pic.twitter.com/NrUmtHzZbq
— GMG Union (@gmgunion) October 30, 2019
This is a really sad end for many of the staffers at Deadspin. The site was a huge influence on the sports blogging community and has been a big part of the sports world for years. Whether you loved or loathed the site, it had a massive reach and it was a major player in the narrative of the sports world.