Then, Thursday night, after Bernie Sanders tweeted in support of Deadspin, supporter collective People for Bernie tweeted the post at its new URL: After which, sometime today, the post disappeared, only to be replaced by this: Its not entirely clear which of Kinjas guidelines were violated, particularly considering that theres no agreed upon definition of what constitutes a herb. But before a formal interview process could take place, Spanfeller filled the jobs with his ex-colleagues. Details may include related records, political party, location, and more. Great Hill Partners did not disclose the financial terms of the private, all equity transaction but stated in a press release that Spanfeller is an investor. She told Deadspin she was surprised that Spanfeller seemed to know little about her team, which last year won Digidays best content studio award.. G/O Media, the newly formed company comprised of the assets of the former Gizmodo Media, will lay off 25 employees, according to a memo that company CEO Jim Spanfeller sent to staffers on Tuesday. Jim Spanfeller Biography. Since Spanfeller took over G/O Media in April, more than a dozen people have left the company voluntarily, in addition to the 25 people who were laid off. Then, in early June, former Onion CEO Mike McAvoy, whountil he was separated from the company on July 11had been leading sales across all the sites, told the SVP that Spanfeller had hired two new sales leaders, Flanagan and Thompson. [10] Spanfeller was also responsible for advertising sales on the magazine's website and that of Yahoo! Jim characterized that as a misunderstanding, she said. [6] Just under two years later, Spanfeller was replaced as publisher by Scott Kauffmann and became the national sales manager of Newsweek magazine in 1986. Just two weeks after Spanfeller and Great Hill acquired the company, and less than a week after he said in an interview with Variety that he didnt expect any layoffs, Spanfeller fired 25 people across the 400-person company, including Susie Banikarim, GMGs widely respected editorial director, and the only person of color on the executive leadership team at the time. Spanfeller did offer to promote one female employee, former chief of staff for The Onion Katie Pontius, and make her the companys head of talent, but the position fell through after he demanded that she fire newsroom editorial director Susie Banikarimas her first management move, which Pontius refused, according to sources who spoke to Deadspin. Spanfeller, a man who is regularly and perhaps euphemistically referred to in press accounts as a digital media veteran, has so far hired a slew of his former colleagues at Forbes.comwhere he was CEO from 2001 to 2009and Playboywhere he was a senior vice president from 1989 to 1993. The other is still in college.. Jeremy Gordon Oct292019 03:41PM EST. 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. 15 Life Hacks That Are Actually Pretty Good 17,580. Page 1 of 9,554,641. Vice president of sales for the south Lance Johnson, who worked with Spanfeller at Forbes (and most recently worked with Bruce Rogers at a company called SITO Mobile). Email him here: caleb@mediaite.com
"We are happy to hear that the company is profitable and financially stable enough for Jim Spanfeller to consider further acquisitions, and look forward to welcoming more workers into our union," the G/O Media union said in a statement. This particular set of troubles all started when private equity firm Great Hill Partners purchased GMG and hired Spanfeller, a former Forbes.com CEO, to guide the ship. Jim Justice speaks during President Donald Trump's political rally inside the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington on Thursday. But Spanfeller said that he wants G/O Media to keep the voice and mission that made Gawker Media sites singular in the digital media industry. Meanwhile, many people who are still at the company feel their work is being hindered by new management. [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. James J. Spanfeller serves as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President of Electronic Publishing for . One major conflict arose over whether the company should build a video player in-house or pay for a third-party platform. That evening, the woman received an email from McAvoy telling her that the SVP of marketing job had been filled with someone who worked with Spanfeller at Forbes. It was a welcome refrain for employees all too aware of how the company had languished under Univisions doomed ownership. Spanfellers all-staff email went on to accuse Deadspins staff of bias and cast doubt on the motives behind the story. In addition to the removal of the post itself, Carmichael also discovered that shes now unable to use her personal Kinja account at all. Club, and Splinter, was purchased by the firm in April, along with the satirical news site The Onion, which led to a massive shift in the companys culture and considerable turnover in the top ranks or, as one G/O Media employee put it, Spanfeller has brought in a bunch of white dudes to change the company. In addition to the annoying ads, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller also wants Kotaku to only write about video games.
Cramer finally reveals whether he is pro-Trump or anti-Trump - CNBC While G/O Media has often placed importance on diversity among their staff and in their coverage, these executive-level jobs went to white males. Spanfeller said the company hopes to expand into areas like travel, music, business, and news. This guy just seems like he doesnt like women, another added. When Rogers was hired less than a week after McAvoy told the SVP that she would be able to interview for the job, she said, she realized that he must have been chosen well before. The G/O Media union sent the following statement regarding the survey: The GMG Union has made repeated good-faith efforts to cooperate with management in resolving the many outstanding issues currently facing the company, from workplace accessibility to a video player that lacks viable metrics. The Daily Meal Founder G/O Media Chief Executive Officer Board and Advisor Roles Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 3 Number of Past Board & Advisor Roles 2 [5], In 1984, Spanfeller was named publisher of Newsweek On Campus magazine. It definitely feels like its the old boys club, a G/O Media employee told Deadspin. Spanfeller, a man who is regularly and perhaps euphemistically referred to in press accounts as a digital media "veteran," has so far hired a slew of his former colleagues at Forbes.comwhere he. Im sorry that Mike didnt more clearly convey the information to me., McAvoy said, Jim has a different recollection of the facts., The SVP said she told Spanfeller that she wasnt the only person who noticed this pattern of hiring his former colleagues over women at the company, and that he should be prepared to address it. Spanfeller Has an Alleged History of Screaming at Women Employees. [14] A subsequent Deadspin post mocked Spanfeller as a "herb"; after being widely shared on social media, G/O Media removed the post. John Taggart for The Washington Post / Getty Images. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Hes trying to micromanage, the tech employee said last week. While these high-ranking women were being overlooked and bypassed, Spanfeller evidently was concerned about retaining at least one other VP on the sales side. As I said in the article, some of the celebs I mentioned could have changed their political leanings. Political affiliation. 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. A source at the company familiar with the situation said Thompsons hire had been flagged to upper management as a potential problem. Fuck Jim Spanfeller and Paul Maidment. Sole dedication to revenue, getting it the cheapest, quickest way possible. (Deadspin reached out to 10 former Spanfeller employees at The Daily Meal; four consented to be interviewed, though all declined to be named because they fear retribution from Spanfeller or their current companies.) He would stop into peoples offices with the doors open and scream at them, so everyone knew what was going on., A fourth source, a former senior staff member at The Daily Meal who worked with Spanfeller, confirmed his temper issues and the dysfunctional nature of the workplace.
Jim Spanfeller - Wikipedia 2. I am a father of three wonderful woman. Everyone can seeit on the pageor at least, everyone could see it before the censorship. Its hard to imagine what one would not like on that list of items, Reibstein said of the third question. G/O Media, from a business perspective, has turned a corner, Spanfeller says. Why Ketanji Brown Jackson Split With the Courts Liberals in a 54 Decision, the firing of beloved editor Barry Petchesky, According to Great Hill Partners website, increasingly insisted on directing editorial coverage. Like many media companies, G/O Media's advertising business was battered by the pandemic. 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. Spanfeller said the goal was to find out what the key points of attraction are for our visitors.. G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller said the company would become "nicely profitable" by the end of the year, after it's been . Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. . That union's collective bargaining agreement expires in February. I think it's all good," said Chris Gaffney, co-founder and managing partner at Great Hill. Steve Thompson, 55, was installed over a female vice president who had been running west coast sales for two and a half years. When pressed, Knight admitted the deadline may be unrealistic. "[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.
Celebrities Who Are Republicans/Conservatives - HubPages According to his LinkedIn, Thompson is the founder of Mediacentric Inc., a multi-media representation company., A man was hired with my same title [vice president for west coast sales] to be my boss, the VP told Deadspin. 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.. tips@mediaite.com, Caleb Ecarma was a reporter at Mediaite. In reality, this story started with a tip the site received about Spanfellers hiring practices, and grew from there thanks to sources accounts. In its brief life, the postwritten by Emma Carmichael, a former editor at a former version of the companywas viewed nearly 100,000 times and was tweeted out by the official People for Bernie Twitter account. [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". Jim has a different recollection of the facts, McAvoy reiterated. According to Great Hill Partners website, Spanfeller has led comparable media platforms and positioned them for successful strategic exit, which probably means something to someone, somewhere, but Spanfeller is perhaps best known for dramatically increasing Forbes.coms focus on digital advertising (Spanfeller also previously served as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau). 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. He credited The Root for its journalism on the Black Lives Matter movement. When asked why he didnt consider the SVP, Spanfeller told Deadspin, I was unaware of her interest in the role and that Mike had made that commitment and Im sorry. Great Hill Partners is a growth equity company committed to building businesses. Justice announced he was switching his party affiliation . It also wasnt communicated to me as a promotion until the day it was emailed out to the company.. Never mind the flood of negative stories about staff blowback over the company's editorial direction. Three and a half hours later, Maidment sent an email to Greenwell and me with the subject line, Reporting on ourselves. The body of the message read: This is a tradition that makes no sense. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Jim Spanfeller discover inside connections to recommended . G/O Media sites generated about 45.7 million unique visitors in October, according to Comscore, down from 47.8 million in October 2020 and 101.6 million in October 2019, right before the Deadspin exodus. Mad Money Twitter - Jim . View details on more than 95 Million registered voters across the United States. (The other woman on the executive leadership team, general counsel Lynn Oberlander, left the company this week.) No one has been named interim editor, and there is no succession plan in place. Ultimately, the issue of building a wall has raised political risk, Cramer said. In the culmination of a dayslong struggle to suppress a post that repeatedly referred to its CEO, Jim Spanfeller, as a herb, G/O Media has taken the drastic step of removing the article from its Kinja platform entirely. After two years of mainly working from home, the company wants everyone back in the office four days a week. After Gawker's high-profile legal battle with Hulk Hogan, Univision in 2016 purchased its other media properties out of bankruptcy for $135 million, but struggled and sold the assets, including add-ons like The Onion, to Great Hill Partners in 2019. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Steve Riley on February 14, 2013: Just right off the bat. And I didnt know what Sean was doing. The next day she refused to join me in communicating our plans to Susie. (G/O Medias Collective Bargaining Agreement contains a clause that explicitly states that editorial decisions can only be made by editorial staff members, which Spanfeller is not. New York(CNN Business) Two former executives are suing G/O Media, the parent company of sites including Gizmodo, Deadspin and The Onion, alleging discrimination and negligence. 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. Editorial director Paul Maidment, who worked with Spanfeller at Forbes and The Daily Meal. Internet Life, a joint publication of Ziff-Davis and Yahoo!. Im shocked he would call that a good presentation, said the employee who was in the meeting. 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.". Nearly two dozen current G/O Media employees spoke to Deadspin for this story. He previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President .
G/O Media lawsuits: Two former exec allege discrimination - CNN (check all that apply); and What do you like LEAST about Deadspin? It was four days old. 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. He sits on the Board of Directors of The New York Chapter of The National Foundation for Teaching . Six days after the SVPs exchange with McAvoy, Spanfeller sent an email to the entire staff announcing G/O Medias new company values. Find Out With This Weeks News Quiz. I had experience and confidence in the people who were hired. "You can write a blog, just don't publish them here.". Its Extremely Revealing. As the former publisher of National Geographic, Mens Health & Maximmy successful presentation & leadership skills are evident.. Im kind of a tipsy at a bar in Paris, she added. This is the same thing that has also happened to Deadspin. Still, tensions between management and staff are high at the company as it prepares to enter negotiations with the G/O Media editorial union, one of the two unions representing editorial workers at the company. As for why that move was never announced, Spanfeller told Deadspin he believed Mike McAvoy would announce Rogers arrival, even though Spanfeller hired Rogers and he has announced other hires across the company since taking over. Now that we are closer to stabilizing the companys finances, we can take even more time and be more deliberate in our hiring, which the SVP Talent is already doing.. Once it became clear that the sales department was being restructured in Kurt Muellers absence, another female vice president, who had been at the company for four years, asked McAvoy in early June for the opportunity to be considered for an expanded sales role, providing examples to show her success at the company. 3. On Glassdoor, a website where current and former employees can submit anonymous reviews of their workplaces, reviews of The Daily Meal are overwhelmingly negative. Multiple sources say that Spanfeller reached out to VP of media operations Brad Klancnik to tell him he was a valuable employee and that the new owners would like him to stay at the company, but female VPs say he did not relay such messages to them. This sites credibility is not dependent on who and what it reports on, but on its ability to report forcefully and accurately. Jim Spanfeller . Well keep fighting for whats right. There are regions that were within my scope of responsibilities and within my role that I cannot call on and neither can my team.. Gov. One theory was that Spanfeller thought implementing analytics would take developer resources away from building the new video platform and player, though employees said implementing analytics is a relatively easy fix. But as Spanfeller began to implement his vision, that hope was replaced by employee frustration and skepticism over his hiring practices and interference with the companys journalism. I was also hiring a good portion of these jobs before I actually took over day to day control of the company. [He] wasnt interested in hearing what someone with 20 years of experience would say.. 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. 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. (Pontius declined to comment.
Jim Spanfeller - New York, New York, United States - LinkedIn James J. Spanfeller Jr. is an American media executive best known for running Forbes.com from 20012009. (Pontius left the company.) Spanfeller also said that he did not ask Katie to fire Susie, only to be in the room while I had the conversation about Susies future with the company., Spanfeller ended up firing Banikarim himself, and then, months later, hiring Angela Persaud for the chief talent officer job after a public search. Sources say the meeting concluded with an agreement that the best course of action would be to explain to Spanfeller why the player would not be finished by August 15. Ive reached out to Spanfeller for comment multiple times over the past few days and have yet to hear back. Spanfeller said no one told him that a female VP was already successfully performing that job before he hired Thompson. "There's been a lot of pain in this, but it's worth it to get properties that are as great as these properties are," Spanfeller said of G/O's 11 publications, which include Gizmodo, Jezebel, The Onion, Lifehacker, The Root, and Kotaku. All rights reserved. [7], Spanfeller was named associate publisher and senior vice president of marketing of Playboy Enterprises in April 1989. The post, published Tuesday evening, proved wildly popular on Twitter. Jim Rich, the former top editor of the New York Daily News, will start as editor-in-chief of Deadspin on Monday. The JW Player was an interim step, Spanfeller said. ), The internal reaction to these hires has ranged from confusion to anger. The two former staffers described Spanfeller as a micromanager who insists on approving minor budget items and sitting in on meetings far beneath his level, like editorial audience meetings with. 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 . I never changed my mind. 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. The key journalistic properties descended from . In other words, G/O media had effectively broken the redirect at Deadspin2.com, so that the site now redirected to a dead link. "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. The former staff of Splinter later launched the worker-owned Discourse Blog. Spanfeller said he would go into negotiations "with an open mind and good faith," but a former executive at the company predicted conflict at the negotiating table between the union and the CEO, given their view of Spanfeller's heavy-handed leadership style.
The mess at G/O Media - Columbia Journalism Review According to Great Hill Partners' website, Spanfeller "has led comparable media platforms and positioned them for successful strategic exit," which probably means something to someone, somewhere,. I was sorry and that is accurate, he said. Think Youre Smarter Than a What Next Producer? McAvoy told her she would be able to interview for a bigger role, she said, only to follow up a few weeks later and say that Rogers had been hired. It is also worth noting that multiple internal candidates have expressed interest in the position of EIC of the A/V Club. The Onion union declined to comment, but a source with knowledge of the situation disputed that the union demanded promotions, saying its letter demanded action and used the words We ask for the following when addressing promotions. My territory has been cut in half. Former SVP of sales and operations Kurt Mueller had left the company, and McAvoy told the woman Spanfeller was hiring his replacement. Who even told you you were allowed to think about audience? the woman alleged. According to multiple sources inside the company, the post even joined the leading posts from official G/O sites on the big board, a large screen in the companys New York headquarters that displays that moments most highly trafficked storiesan unusual feat for a user-generated post.