Group of Deadspin writers quit after being ordered to ‘stick to sports’

A group of bloggers at the popular website Deadspin quit after a disagreement with management over the focus of the site.

Paul Maidment, the editorial director at G/O, the company that owns Deadspin, reportedly issued a memo to employees on Monday directing them to make sports the “sole focus” of the site’s coverage, the Daily Beast reported. Deadspin previously covered sports alongside culture, politics and media. 

However, instead of sticking to the directive, staffers placed multiple popular non-sports stories – including “The Adults in the Room,” an article written by former Deadspin editor-in-chief Megan Greenwell slamming Deadspin’s new parent company G/O Media, according to CNN– on the site’s homepage.

Deadspin interim editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky posted that he was fired from his position Tuesday for “not sticking to sports.” 

Hi! I’ve just been fired from Deadspin for not sticking to sports.

— Barry Petchesky (@barry) October 29, 2019

Wednesday evening, multiple other employees tweeted that they walked out in protest of the editorial changes at the site. 

.@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 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

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

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’ve resigned from Deadspin.

— Dracubert Nosferatko (@AlbertBurneko) October 30, 2019

I quit today too https://t.co/W7meIcW0Cx

— Laura Wagner (@laurawags) October 30, 2019

Deadspin advertises itself as “sports news without access, favor or discretion.” Earlier this year, the financial equity firm Great Hills Partners bought Deadspin alongside its sister sites like The Root, Gizmodo and Jezebel. 

{mosads}The company shut down liberal news site Splinter earlier this month.

The Gizmodo Media Group Union supported the staff’s walkout, alleging in a statement that CEO Jim Spanfeller was responsible for the new coverage restrictions.

“Today, a number of our colleagues at Deadspin resigned from their positions. From the outset, CEO Jim Spanfeller has worked to undermine a successful site by curtailing its most well-read coverage because it makes him personally uncomfortable,” the statement reads. “This is not what journalism looks like and it is not what editorial independence looks like.”

A statement about the resignations at Deadspin. pic.twitter.com/NrUmtHzZbq

— GMG Union (@gmgunion) October 30, 2019

The Hill has reached out to G/O for comment. 

The Daily Beast Media Reporter Max Tani tweeted that he received a statement from a G/O spokesperson. 

G/O spokesperson on Deadspin resignations: “They resigned and we’re sorry that they couldn’t work within this incredibly broad coverage mandate. We’re excited about Deadspin’s future and we’ll have some important updates in the coming days.”

— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) October 30, 2019