Popular sports blog Deadspin has been sold to a new European company, Lineup Publishing, and the website’s new owners are not retaining any of the current editorial staff.
Deadspin had been owned by G/O Media since 2019 before Monday’s sale.
Deadspin writers and editors were given 30 minutes’ notice before losing their jobs before being left without access to their company laptops, according to the senior editor. Julie DiCaro.
“I want to be clear that we were not actively purchasing Deadspin,” G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller said in a memo to staff, obtained by DailyMail.com.
“The rationale behind the decision to sell included a variety of important factors including the buyer’s editorial plans for the brand, stiff competition in the sports journalism sector and a valuation that reflected a considerable premium to our original purchase price for the site,” Spanfeller continued.
Popular Sports Website Deadspin Did Not Retain All of Its Editorial Staff by Its New Owners
Here is the Deadspin logo, which has been used by the company for the past few years.
According to DiCaro, Deadspin staff were locked out of their company email accounts quickly enough to not receive Spanfeller’s memo, meaning they likely first saw it on social media.
“Deadspin’s new owners have made the decision not to move the site’s existing staff and instead create a new team more in line with their editorial vision for the brand,” Spanfeller’s memo continues.
‘While the new owners plan to be reverential to Deadpin’s unique voice, they plan to take a different content approach to the site’s overall sports coverage. Unfortunately, this means we will be parting ways with the affected staff members, who were notified today,” Spanfeller added.
“I would like to thank them for their hard work and efforts that helped Deadspin stand out in the crowded sports media space,” Spanfeller said.
Deadspin has staff based in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles affected by the layoff.
Spanfeller added that Lineup Publishing recently approached G/O Media and expressed initial interest in purchasing Deadspin. Spanfeller did not disclose how much the website was sold for.
Spanfeller added that G/O Media’s board of directors decided to accept his offer “after careful consideration.”
“As I mentioned at our general meeting in December, we are always actively reviewing our portfolio and operations to ensure we are prioritizing resources to best meet the needs of our readers and advertisers,” Spanfeller’s memo said.
“While we are seeing some improvements so far this year on the advertising front, and I am cautiously optimistic that this will continue, we are mindful of the need to focus on the core sites that we believe can best thrive in the current media business environment and future.” added Spanfeller.
Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy Celebrated Deadspin Staff Losing Their Jobs Shirtless in His Pool
“These decisions are never easy, but they represent a step in keeping G/O Media focused, agile and financially strong in the future,” Spanfeller continued.
The Deadspin staff job loss is another example of an alarming trend of layoffs in sports media.
In recent months, the New York Times sports department was dissolved, The Messenger was shuttered, and the entire editorial staff at Sports Illustrated was laid off.
The Deadspin website is still active, with several stories written this morning on the home page.
Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy has long hated Deadspin, because the website called attention to his company’s alleged misogyny and treatment of employees.
‘How many times can I open a bottle for the same damn company?’ How many times can I kill Deadspin? How many times can Julie DiCaro lose her damn job? Portnoy said shirtless as he floated around his pool while he recorded himself.
‘It seems infinite. But here we are again, new bottle of champagne,’ Portnoy continued. ‘…This is just kicking a dead dog. But you know what? I’m not beyond that.