"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. While cleaning house and bringing in some trusted former colleagues is not entirely uncommon in private-equity acquisitions, Spanfeller filled nearly his entire top layer of management without any public recruitment process; the only woman hired as a department head, head of talent Angela Persaud, was also the only person at that level whose job was posted publicly. Voter Registration Records Multiple sources say Pontius declined to go along with the plan, angering Spanfeller. Celebrities Who Are Republicans/Conservatives - HubPages In an email read to Deadspin, McAvoy agreed that she was qualified for the role and said he would talk with Spanfeller to ensure she was interviewed for the new opportunity, which had not been posted publicly. I found this troubling but was okay with it given the circumstances. Clubs executive editor and managing editor, respectively, stepped down on July 12. I hold myself to a high regard and ensuring that Im respectful to others and create a community of camaraderie, hire for diversity, and that there is a work life balance, she told Deadspin. For the last two questions, the options were the same: Uncompromising commentary, sports stories I cant find anywhere else, knowledgeable writers, broad scope of coverage, political coverage and strong political point of view, and criticism and coverage of other media companies.. She told Deadspin she was surprised that Spanfeller seemed to know little about her team, which last year won Digidays best content studio award.. He is currently the CEO of G/O Media which consists primarily of sites that were previously part of Gawker Media. 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. The takeover of G/O Media, previosuly known as Gizmodo Media Group and Gawker Media, by former Forbes executive Jim Spanfellercontinues to throttle downhill, as one of the companys news sites, Deadspin, published a scathing expos on Friday detailing a litany of problems employees have faced since investment firm Great Hill purchased Gizmodo and placed Spanfeller in control. 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. Announcing Persauds hire on July 10, Spanfeller wrote this of the process: After a very fulsome search where we interviewed dozens of qualified candidates we identified two finalists. He said the company was just profitable before the pandemic hit its business, and is now comfortably back in the black. 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. "There's a fly and he's a swatter, and that's it," the former executive said. Over the last few weeks, during their attempts to hinder or prevent the publication of this story, Maidment and Spanfeller invoked concerns about Deadspins credibility in covering G/O Media. I have stood up for and advocated for my team since the day I started at G/O. When asked if she stood by the content of the since-disappeared post, Carmichael remained steadfast: I did really careful, thorough research, and the evidence is there. He started screaming at me, Who told you you were allowed to speak about audience? During Jim Spanfeller's younger years, he lived in Pennsylvania and recieved his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1952 from the Philladelphia Academy of the Fine Arts. Voting precincts and districts. Spanfeller said he did not recall the specific request. A voter's representatives in government. I expect to be treated the way I treat people., This pattern played out three more times in Spanfellers first few months as CEO. The job, however, came with a condition, they said: Pontiuss first order of business would be to fire newsroom editorial director Susie Banikarim. Cramer finally reveals whether he is pro-Trump or anti-Trump - CNBC If I had known, I would have been happy to interview her and consider her for the role., On June 20, the next time Spanfeller was in Chicago, the SVP met with him to ask why she had been overlooked. Employees in G/O Media's editorial union urged the company's private-equity owners to replace G/O Chief Executive Jim Spanfeller in a letter Monday, saying a change in leadership was . (10 is very satisfied, 1 is very unsatisfied); What do you like MOST about Deadspin? [5] Upon returning from Europe, Spanfeller took a position at AMP Marketing Systems. ), The internal reaction to these hires has ranged from confusion to anger. Jim Spanfeller - Chief Executive Officer @ G/O Media - Crunchbase Deadspin's entire editorial staff is gone - The Washington Post ), Spanfeller described the situation differently. She said Spanfeller told her that he was unaware of what she did at the company, and that she replied: That doesnt help, because that says you not only didnt know what I did, but you also had no interest in meeting the only woman on the revenue leadership team who is an SVP who has been successful, according to meeting her revenue and finance goals. She said the conversation ended with Spanfeller saying, Im sorry, I dont know what else you want me to say., Spanfeller confirmed the womans account to Deadspin. We have no credibility in writing about ourselves. At the same time, working with the EICs to set a general editorial direction is clearly in the purview of any owner.). 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. Traffic has fallen across G/O Media's portfolio over the past two years, which Spanfeller pinned on industry-wide struggles to generate audience plus the loss of Deadspin and Splinter. Its everything Ive wanted 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. G/O Media lawsuits: Two former exec allege discrimination - CNN From a womans perspective, I did feel very belittled. In addition to the annoying ads, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller also wants Kotaku to only write about video games. 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. Without posting the jobs publicly, Spanfeller hired a stable of white men to fill executive positions overseeing nearly every facet of the company., You also had no interest in meeting the only woman on the revenue leadership team who is an SVP who has been successful., As the only woman on the previous revenue leadership team, I started to wonder if women were being considered for leadership roles., What Spanfeller says is normal is, of course, a reflection of his own values, which evidently rank transparency, diversity, and inclusion as secondary concerns to financial success., The appropriate thing to do would be to talk to the editorial side of the business and have a clear objective for the survey., Chief financial officer Tom Callahan, who worked at Forbes while Spanfeller worked there. 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.". In conversations with Deadspin, more than 20 employees from across the business, tech, and editorial departments of G/O Media expressed frustration with Spanfellers approach to hiring and his new executives lack of knowledge about the company combined with their seeming unwillingness or inability to get up to speed. The rigorous and thorough reporting, editing, and legal review process that Greenwell promised to oversee has since been completed, which is why you are reading this story now. It wasnt collaborative.. Multiple employees on the tech team say the chief technology officer, Jesse Knight, has repeatedly shown himself unable or unwilling to stand up to Spanfeller and advocate for his team and best practice standards. G/O Media shuttered its politics site, Splinter, in 2019. In an email, Flanagan disagreed with those assessments: Simply not true. View details on more than 95 Million registered voters across the United States. Head of The Onion, Deadspin sued for sex discrimination - New York Post Where people are registered to vote. Ive reached out to Spanfeller for comment multiple times over the past few days and have yet to hear back. It became clear that she was not a good fit for this position and we both agreed on this. 4 Dumb Ways Your Favorite Sites Are Dying | Cracked.com I had experience and confidence in the people who were hired. Two are now successfully navigating careers in the digital advertising space. It has introduced real uncertainty in to stocks, and Trump's agenda has become shaky. The mess at G/O Media - Columbia Journalism Review Jim Spanfeller - Big Think 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. 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. It also wasnt communicated to me as a promotion until the day it was emailed out to the company.. I thought she was going to be great, and it didnt work out by her own assessment., In response to follow-up questions, Spanfeller clarified that there was never a signed offer between Pontius and the company. I can see why. 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. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Asked about the meeting, Knight initially didnt answer. Email him here: caleb@mediaite.com It will post an eight-figure operating profit this year, he told Insider, and hunt for acquisitions in 2022. (Pontius declined to comment. This is normal in situations like these where a new group is coming in and is facing a near term challenge.. For the life of me, I am not sure how you can have a legal review without a complete story and I cannot imagine how you can consider your work to be objective without reviewing the answers to the questions that you have asked. . 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. Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on February 14, 2013: Duff performed at W's inauguration. After two years of mainly working from home, the company wants everyone back in the office four days a week. 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. [9], In 1996, Spanfeller left his job at Inc., where he had become publisher, to become publisher of Yahoo! According to Dave Reibstein, past chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Marketing Association and a professor of marketing at University of Pennsylvanias Wharton School of Business (where he teaches a course on market research), there are several problems with the survey. As the former publisher of National Geographic, Mens Health & Maximmy successful presentation & leadership skills are evident.. WV Gov. Justice switching political parties, returning to GOP Employees across editorial, sales, and tech have left, but many of these positions, even mission-critical ones, have not been filled. I am a father of three wonderful woman, Spanfeller wrote in a statement. (Pontius left the company.) I hired Katie who accepted the job, he wrote. Think Youre Smarter Than a What Next Producer? Sources say he was retained to consult on sales and how the department could work more directly with clients, which the now-former employee says was her job. The other is still in college.. Spanfeller was hired by private equity firm Great Hill Partners to run the company after it was purchased from Univision. Jim has a different recollection of the facts, McAvoy reiterated. Oh my God, thats so funny, Carmichael said when I informed her of this latest development. Email us. Reverse Phone Search Tool And much more all for free! G/O Media, from a business perspective, has turned a corner, Spanfeller says. Made up mostly of the former Gawker Media sites, G/O Media has been in a near constant state of turmoil for the past few years. It is ridiculous to launch a management survey questioning the editorial value of the site. Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. Initially, we had to move fast because the company was losing money at a rapid pace, he said. 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. They cant even pitch effectively, said another employee who was present. 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. 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. This conversation inspired her to write a post on the personal account she still holds on G/Os publishing platform, Kinja, titled Jim Spanfeller Is a Herb., Pronounced with a hard h, herbs are difficult to define, but typified by the individuals seen in this earlier Carmichael post about herbitude. View Jim Spanfeller's professional profile on LinkedIn. G/O Media lawsuits: Two former exec allege discrimination - CNN Jim characterized that as a misunderstanding, she said. [12][13], In 2011, Spanfeller launched The Daily Meal with an estimated $2 million investment. Unlike private equity investors who financially engineer acquisitions, burdening companies they buy with debt and massive . Endnotes [1] Statement from G/O Media: "Some reports have miscast Jim Spanfeller as a private equity businessman when, in fact, he has spent his entire career in editorial-driven businesses. "We needed to change a lot of things, and change is hard.". 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. Hes trying to micromanage, the tech employee said last week. The role was not posted nor was it communicated to me in time where I would have even been given equal opportunity to be considered, she said. Katie then refused to assume the HR lead role around other wider layoffs at the company. The person hired was Bruce Rogers, who most recently ran the institute arm of SITO Mobile, a mobile data company. Asked about the former employees accounts, Spanfeller said he has no idea what this refers to and it is not my recollection of working at The Daily Meal, adding that he doesnt recall screaming at anyone. Everything theyve done in reaction to it is the herbiest shit I could possibly imagine. Details may include related records, political party, location, and more. He previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President . (Spanfeller denies this claim.). Text. 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. One major conflict arose over whether the company should build a video player in-house or pay for a third-party platform. Both lawsuits detail discrimination personally faced or witnessed by the plaintiffs from Jim Spanfeller, who became CEO of G/O Media in April after private equity firm Great Hill acquired Gizmodo Media Group. This is the same thing that has also happened to Deadspin. In the meantime, Carmichael had her own message for Spanfeller: Congratulations on confirming your herb-ishness.. 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 . The former staff of Splinter later launched the worker-owned Discourse Blog. Whats left of that company is currently called G/O Media. Justice announced he was switching his party affiliation . You wrote a 'story,'" Spanfeller recalled telling staff. Great Hill Partners is a growth equity company committed to building businesses. Sean Flanagan, 55, who was hired to lead east coast sales, was also installed over a female senior sales employee, who had been at the company for four years before she left in July. We may earn a commission from links on this page. In the months that followed, without posting the jobs publicly, Spanfeller, 62, hired a stable of white men to fill executive positions overseeing nearly every facet of the company. Youre not qualified. "You can write a blog, just don't publish them here.". Six of these hires were Spanfellers colleagues from his previous jobs at Forbes, Playboy, and Ziff Davis. Though neither Spanfeller nor Knight provided the team a hard deadline, they made clear that they wanted the task, which should have taken months, completed in a matter of weeks. The sales employee (who is not an SVP) wasnt surprised to hear that Spanfeller didnt know what she did. Deadspin cited an account from a former writer at The Daily Meal, a food and beverage site that Spanfeller founded in 2015, who claims her former boss once started screaming at her because she voiced concerns about writing a story on the websites earning figures, which she felt she was not qualified for. 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. In reality, this story started with a tip the site received about Spanfellers hiring practices, and grew from there thanks to sources accounts. Political affiliation means the state of belonging to or endorsing any political party. G/O is still wracked with internal tensions ahead of contract negotiations with one of its editorial unions. When confronted with this negative feedback, Spanfeller insisted that he cannot be sexist because he has daughters. Before we go any further, I feel compelled to acknowledge that nearly everything about this item is a conflict of interest. Like many media companies, G/O Media's advertising business was battered by the pandemic. tips@mediaite.com, Caleb Ecarma was a reporter at Mediaite. 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. Several high-ranking employees have left the company over the past three months, departments have been stretched thin, and those who remain say that Spanfellers micromanaging and inappropriate interference has hamstrung their ability to effectively do their jobs. Vacillating Wildly From Dispiriting to Exhilarating. Or knowledgeable writers?, Asked about the survey, Rogers said he thinks its responses will accurately and fully reflect Deadspin readers opinions of the site. Both lawsuits detail discrimination personally faced or witnessed by the plaintiffs from Jim Spanfeller, who became CEO of G/O Media in April after private equity firm Great Hill acquired Gizmodo . Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. (The people I work for and the people who report to me know what I do, Rogers, 63, told Deadspin in an email.). In addition to clichs like we are ambitious and be passionate and have fun, the fifth value on the list said, We will be at our best when we embrace many different perspectives and experiences. Jeremy Gordon Oct292019 03:41PM EST. The union said that it wants the money to translate into higher salary minimums, trans-inclusive healthcare, and a focus on talent retention. In the midst of the fallout, former Deadspin, Gawker, and Jezebel editor Emma Carmichael had a spirited discussion with [former Jezebel writer] Clio Chang on the overwhelming herbishness of Jim Spanfeller, she told me over the phone. I am a father of three wonderful woman. In one case, sources say Spanfeller did offer to promote a woman to run human resources, but on the condition she fire another woman at the company as her first order of business. Deadspin Editor Quits, Rails Against Bosses: 'I've Been Repeatedly Lied Additionally, Jim Spanfeller has had 6 past jobs including CEO at Forbes. We sent a request for an explanation and did not receive a response. Mr. Spanfeller has a BA in English Literature from Union College, Schenectady, New York. Jim Spanfeller Biography | Booking Info for Speaking Engagements Have a tip or story idea? [10] Spanfeller was also responsible for advertising sales on the magazine's website and that of Yahoo! Spanfeller Hired Media Friends/Former Colleagues to Fill G/O Media Roles Just After Claiming He Had No Plans for Major Turnover. 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. "We remain optimistic that our labor will be taken into consideration as this period of financial promise collides with a time that has been particularly rough on morale," the Onion Union statement said. Lastly, I firmly believe, personally, that Jim Spanfeller is a herb. G/O Media, the company which ran Deadspin, was acquired by the private equity group Great Hill Partners, which installed Spanfeller as CEO and gave him one mission: Make them richer. Before he started full time in early June, Flanagan was brought in as a consultant just after Spanfeller took over G/O Media. 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.. "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. [2][3], Spanfeller graduated from Union College with a B.A. The anger stems from Spanfellers apparent disregard for his own stated company values, which include a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Spanfeller admitted he contacted Maidment in June after receiving my initial email requesting an interview. The survey on Deadspin, however, had some serious issues, he said. She asked McAvoy, then her immediate supervisor, for the opportunity to interview for the position, citing her leadership of the revenue division, her construction of a diverse team, and her renown in the industry. It was placed there without consultation or even simple communication to anyone on Deadspins staff. Its Extremely Revealing. 3. "We want to do it in a way that's a little more buttoned up," he said. UPDATE: This article has been updated to remove an incorrect reference to former G/O Media Lynn Oberlander leaving her job shortly after the companys latest round of layoffs. No one has been named interim editor, and there is no succession plan in place. This sites credibility is not dependent on who and what it reports on, but on its ability to report forcefully and accurately. At least have everybody well briefed on this is what were doing and this is what wed like to learn from it, Reibstein said. It was four days old. Spanfeller said he asked for the survey; Rogers said he wrote it; and editorial director Paul Maidment said he didnt approve it, but he told Deadspin editor-in-chief Megan Greenwell that he did not attempt to stop it from running on the site when he was filled in shortly before it was scheduled to go up. The VP, who said she now reports to Thompson, said all of her previous reviews from her managers have exceeded expectations, and that she was able to more than double revenue for my region in less than a year. Its hard to imagine what one would not like on that list of items, Reibstein said of the third question. Who even told you you were allowed to think about audience?, My management was straight-up scared of him, said a staffer who worked at the site for two years and had responsibilities on both the editorial and marketing sides of the company.
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