Sports news website Deadspin has been sold to a European journalism start-up — which abruptly laid off the entire staff on Monday.
Among those who are now unemployed is hate hoaxer Carron J. Philips, who infamously published an article smearing a nine-year-old child for wearing face paint and an Indian headdress to a Chief's football game.
G/O Media, the former parent company of Deadspin, said they had not been looking to sell when they were approached with an offer from European firm Lineup Publishing.
Jim Spanfeller, CEO of parent company G/O Media, announced the layoffs in a memo to the former employees, which was obtained by several media outlets.
“The rationale behind the decision to sell included a variety of important factors that include the buyer’s editorial plans for the brand, tough competition in the sports journalism sector, and a valuation that reflected a sizable premium from our original purchase price for the site,” Spanfeller wrote.
“Deadspin’s new owners have made the decision to not carry over any of the site’s existing staff and instead build a new team more in line with their editorial vision for the brand,” Spanfeller continued. According to Deadspin staff, they were locked out of their laptops and accounts and given just a few moments to get up and leave.
Jim Spanfeller strikes again!
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 11, 2024
CNN lamented, "The slashing of Deadspin’s staff is the latest in what so far has been a tumultuous year for the news media."
"In the first three months of 2024 alone, The Messenger has shut down, BuzzFeed cut 16% of its remaining staff, and Vice Media laid off hundreds of employees as it ceased to publish on its website," the report said. "TIME also laid off 15% of its unionized editorial staff and The Los Angeles Times cut over 20% of its newsroom staff. Meanwhile, at Condé Nast, staffers walked off the job, protesting layoffs, and staffers at The New York Daily News and Forbes staged a walkout."
The report continued, "The hemorrhaging in newsrooms around the country comes as outlets struggle to contend with an eroding advertising business, plummeting social media referral traffic and the looming threat of artificial intelligence."
