Deadspin hires Jim Rich as new editor in chief after en-masse resignations

Deadspin has reportedly hired a former top editor at The New York Daily News as its new editor in chief after las fall’s massive resignation of staffers.

Jim Rich, hired by Deadspin’s parent company G/O Media, will be starting Monday in a time of great uncertainty for the website, three months after the mass walkout, according to media reports. 

The sports blog was thrust into in controversy after 20 editors and writers resigned and the deputy editor Barry Petchesky was fired following an order from management to cover only sports and sports-related topics. The website has not produced any new content since November. 

Rich told The Washington Post that he has the “best intentions” and is the “farthest thing from a stick-to-sports sort of guy.”

“I don’t want to see Deadspin die,” Rich said. “I know the obit has been written already and people feel like it’s dead, but I want to change people’s minds.”

Rich said he plans to hire a staff of 20, and, although he has not spoken to former employees, he would be open to them returning to the company.

“I won’t be shackled to straightforward sports journalism,” he said. “What interests me is the issues that a lot of the bigger sports journalism places tip-toe around — not much different than what Deadspin has always been and [what] made it as good as it was.”

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

G/O Media was bought by Great Hill Partners last year, almost immediately leading to clashes between the Deadspin staffers and new management. 

Rich previously resigned from The New York Daily News in 2018 after he disagreed with the newspaper’s changing direction under the management of Tronc.

Last Friday, the CEO of Deadspin announced the company is suspending negotiations with unionized staff and moving its headquarters from New York to Chicago.