Jim Rich, the former top editor of the New York Daily News, will start as editor-in-chief of Deadspin on Monday. I am a father of three wonderful woman. Im kind of a tipsy at a bar in Paris, she added. That union also opposes G/O Media's recent requirement to return to in-person work. 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. Mr. McAvoy was clear to me on his opinion that he did not think she was the right choice at this time, Spanfeller said. It wasn't Great Hill's first foray into the media business it had previously invested in IGN and sold Ziff Davis but the G/O deal was a tiny one for a firm that describes itself as "targeting investments of $25 million to $500 million.". And as the only woman on the previous revenue leadership team, I started to wonder if women were being considered for leadership roles. Indeed, Spanfeller told Deadspin that he first contacted Rogers about the job on June 11. Spanfellers cronies now fill the G/O Media positions of chief financial officer, editorial director, senior VP of marketing, VP of west coast sales, VP of east coast sales, and VP of southern sales. 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. A senior vice president who has worked for what is now G/O Media for four and a half years met with Spanfeller in the companys Chicago office shortly after he purchased the company in April. Jim Spanfeller - CEO - G/O Media | LinkedIn Jim characterized that as a misunderstanding, she said. Find Out With This Weeks News Quiz. But those efforts did not go very far, the people said, and the company has yet to mount a takeover. 12-Year-Old Prankster Throws Dead Snake on Woman's Car and Gets Flattened by Husband 15,743. Hes trying to micromanage, the tech employee said last week. 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. It was placed there without consultation or even simple communication to anyone on Deadspins staff. 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. Cramer finally reveals whether he is pro-Trump or anti-Trump - CNBC The other is still in college., Four of nine major hires have been women, Spanfeller said. While the archived version of the post did not preserve the original images, you can view a PDF of the original post below. It is ridiculous to launch a management survey questioning the editorial value of the site. 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. In that 30-minute meeting, the woman told Deadspin, Spanfeller told her that Univision had been a bad owner and that he saw an opportunity to make improvements and turn a profit. Political party affiliation trends based on location. They requested anonymity to speak candidly but their identities are known to Insider. 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. The anger stems from Spanfellers apparent disregard for his own stated company values, which include a commitment to diversity and inclusion. Spanfeller Media Group - Wikipedia [15][16] In January 2020 the GMG union, which represents the staff of G/O media, announced a vote of no confidence in CEO Jim Spanfeller citing, among other issues, a lack of willingness to negotiate for "functional editorial independence protections. When Jim Spanfeller and a private equity firm called Great Hill Partners took over G/O Mediaformerly Gizmodo Media Groupin April, their stated goal was to make the company profitable. I have definitely given positive feedback to numerous women, including senior executives in edit, sales, and marketing, he offered instead. When asked if it was inaccurate, then, to say she had accepted the job, Spanfeller did not respond. I told him I had a few questions Id like to ask him, and asked if he had any availability for a meeting the following day. 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. "There's a fly and he's a swatter, and that's it," the former executive said. But Spanfellers expectation that the process would be done in the next week or so shocked the tech team. Spanfeller says Pontius accepted the job, but he decided she was not a good fit for this position after Pontius refused to join me in communicating our plans to fire Banikarim. [1] G/O Media executives have discussed potential deal targets in the past, including Genius, The Hill, and HuffPost, according to two people familiar with the matter. 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. 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. I think it makes him a bad role model for the rest of his team.. My territory has been cut in half. Jim Spanfeller - New York, New York, United States - LinkedIn In this specific case, I have committed to the current story being fully reported and submitted for external review and, if it passes that review, it will be published. A G/O Media spokesperson said the company plans to grow the 174-person editorial headcount to 200 by the end of the first quarter next year. It has introduced real uncertainty in to stocks, and Trump's agenda has become shaky. As for the content of the survey, Reibstein said it is possible to read it as innocent, a way to attempt to gauge customer satisfaction, as its known in the marketing industry. Naturally, we were dismayed to discover one more problemthe survey placed on Deadspin. "People are scared of him. I think the general sentiment coming out of that meeting, at least for some of the senior sales people, was like, these guys are going to lead our sales team? This former staffer said the team wished to add Black creatives to help create more representative branded content to meet the demand, but it was not given additional resources. [We] had a phone conversation, kind of confronting Jim about it, and he told Mike, I thought we talked about this. It was throwing Mike under the bus, and Mike told Jim that they had not talked about it. Asked about the contract, Spanfeller responded, I firmly believe in editorial integrity. Jim Spanfeller Biography & Works of Art | Qart.com It was four days old. 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 . Jim has a different recollection of the facts, McAvoy reiterated. 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. Deadspin Editor Fired Amid Pushback Over 'Stick to Sports' Memo (The other woman on the executive leadership team, general counsel Lynn Oberlander, left the company this week.) G/O Media workers went on strike today in part to protect remote work. In early April, Great Hill Partners, a private-equity firm, acquired Gizmodo Media Groupa collection of sites, formed from the assets of the old Gawker, that included Jezebel, Lifehacker, and Deadspinas well as The Onion, a satirical news site, reportedly at a fire-sale price.The company, renamed G/O Media, installed Jim Spanfeller, formerly of Forbes.com, Playboy, and Ziff Davis, as CEO. Mike hired Steve, and Steve hired Lance after conducting a process around each hire. Great Hill Partners vice president Eric Ahlgren and managing partner Chris Gaffney did not respond to Deadspins emailed questions. 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. And I didnt know what Sean was doing. I am and will continue to be a very strong advocate for my team.. Jim Spanfeller - Big Think 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. Before he started full time in early June, Flanagan was brought in as a consultant just after Spanfeller took over G/O Media. Spanfeller said the goal was to find out what the key points of attraction are for our visitors.. 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. 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. G/O Media lawsuits: Two former exec allege discrimination - CNN ), This isnt the first time Spanfeller has been accused of micromanaging. Spanfellers pushed back against these internal criticisms of his questionably ethical hiring process and management style by blaming G/O Media for losing money too fast. 3. Former Daily News Editor in Chief Is Tapped to Run Deadspin 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. A source at the company familiar with the situation said Thompsons hire had been flagged to upper management as a potential problem. Its motivation is simply to publish true and interesting stories, and to make sure the things powerful people would rather stay in the dark end up in the light of day. Search over 95 Million Voter Registration Records Legal review is often a lengthy process involving multiple reads, so talking to a lawyer is certainly not an indication that we would publish without completing the reporting process. "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 Gizmodo Media Group . Well keep fighting for whats right. Another was more direct: Thats Jim wanting to be in control. Views. These men, and others who now hold C-suite positions at the company, were each hired without a public recruitment process, and several were installed over high-ranking women who had been successfully performing those jobs at the company for years. 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. This guy just seems like he doesnt like women, another added. In 1964, Spanfeller recieved the title of Artist of the Year from the Artists Guild of New York. [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. The post was so popular, in fact, that it apparently gained the attention and ire of Spanfeller himself (perhaps partially due to the fact that someone registered Deadspin2.com and set it to redirect to Carmichaels post). Oberlander actually left last week. In reality, this story started with a tip the site received about Spanfellers hiring practices, and grew from there thanks to sources accounts. Spanfeller Hired Media Friends/Former Colleagues to Fill G/O Media Roles Just After Claiming He Had No Plans for Major Turnover. 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. It laid off 14 staffers in the summer of 2020. "Jim Spanfeller Is a Herb": The rise and fall of a blog post. Never mind the flood of negative stories about staff blowback over the company's editorial direction. His skin got bright red, she said. Youre not qualified. 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,. Having done it at Forbes, I simply knew it could be done quickly and with incremental value to the company.. As you know, one reason that I dont believe that publications should write about themselves is because I fear it damages perceived external credibility in editorial independence, which, if anything, makes keeping advertisers at bay harder, not easier. 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. These vacant roles have yet to be filled and Spanfeller has not announced an interim editor. "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. Its everything Ive wanted and more.. In addition to the annoying ads, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller also wants Kotaku to only write about video games. [5], In 1984, Spanfeller was named publisher of Newsweek On Campus magazine. About their hires, he wrote, I introduced Steve and Lance to Mike McAvoy, but I did not make the hires. Jim Spanfeller Biography. We may earn a commission from links on this page. On July 25, a pop-up survey appeared on Deadspin asking three questions: How satisfied are you with Deadspin? These include a senior vice president of marketing who last week wrote a baffling reader satisfaction survey for Deadspin at Spanfellers behest; a sales executive who, sources say, appears unable to give an effective sales pitch; and an editorial director who repeatedly attempted to kill the reporting process for this story. He sent a message back about the importance of diversity and inclusion and a full hiring process. It also wasnt communicated to me as a promotion until the day it was emailed out to the company.. Steve Thompson, 55, was installed over a female vice president who had been running west coast sales for two and a half years. 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. (10 is very satisfied, 1 is very unsatisfied); What do you like MOST about Deadspin? 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. I was going on the input I had been given by Mike McAvoy that he had discussed the position with her and laid out why she was not ready for the larger role. tips@mediaite.com, Caleb Ecarma was a reporter at Mediaite. Jim Spanfeller @JimSpanfeller Founder of http://TheDailyMeal.comand http://TheActiveTimes.com. That union's collective bargaining agreement expires in February. The sales employee (who is not an SVP) wasnt surprised to hear that Spanfeller didnt know what she did. (Spanfeller denies this claim.). There are regions that were within my scope of responsibilities and within my role that I cannot call on and neither can my team.. View details on more than 95 Million registered voters across the United States. These conversations reveal that Spanfellers biggest effect on the company since taking over has been a deflation of morale. 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.. It definitely feels like its the old boys club, a G/O Media employee told Deadspin. 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. And he made sure to make it clear that I just didnt get it in his mind that I just didnt get this whole digital thing, she said. Great Hill Partners is a growth equity company committed to building businesses. Spanfeller Has an Alleged History of Screaming at Women Employees. Jim Spanfeller - Wikipedia Like many media companies, G/O Media's advertising business was battered by the pandemic. That is clearly evident when you note the poor syntax and galling bias of the questions. I never changed my mind. In a follow-up meeting with Spanfeller about the story, she suggested that hard financial data might not be their audiences central interest. I told Mike, verbally and in writing, that I would be interested in taking on new responsibilities and opportunities within the organization and I would like to interview for whatever position would be a part of that, she told Deadspin. 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. The post, published Tuesday evening, proved wildly popular on Twitter. Spanfeller responded that he would be happy to get together, but did not say anything about open roles. I was unclear about what she did. Im shocked he would call that a good presentation, said the employee who was in the meeting. Voting precincts and districts. At least have everybody well briefed on this is what were doing and this is what wed like to learn from it, Reibstein said. Throughout his career he has recieved more than 60 awards for his work from such . After two years of mainly working from home, the company wants everyone back in the office four days a week. Senior vice president of marketing Bruce Rogers, who worked with Spanfeller at Forbes. Soon after Flanagan started, other members of the sales team began to question his ability to do the job he was hired forspecifically, his ability to represent the websites and the company mission. Club executive editor Laura M. Browning and former A.V. Views. Jim Justice speaks during President Donald Trump's political rally inside the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington on Thursday. Mr. Spanfeller has a BA in English Literature from Union College, Schenectady, New York. He previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President . 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. Enter Jim "Herb" Spanfeller. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. In an email, Flanagan disagreed with those assessments: Simply not true. 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 appropriate thing to do would be to talk to the editorial side of the business and have a clear objective for the survey.. in English Literature in 1979 and went to work as a reporter for the SoHo Weekly News. Political affiliation Definition | Law Insider . The confusion stems from a lack of communication. 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. No one has been named interim editor, and there is no succession plan in place. Jim Spanfeller has 2 current jobs as Founder at The Daily Meal and Chief Executive Officer at G/O Media. In turn, Spanfeller hired a number of his old media friends and former colleagues from Forbes, Playboy, and other outlets to fill top roles at G/O Media, while also failing to make public job postings for many of these roles. McAvoy described the SVP of marketing job as a combination of sales strategy, account management, and managing creative teamsall responsibilities that fell under the SVPs purview. I am a father of three wonderful woman, Spanfeller wrote in a statement. Club managing editor Caitlin PenzeyMoog, who both resigned on July 12. Im not building a club, we are working to build a successful companyand that depends on great women and men.. Spanfeller said that he wasnt preventing, just delaying analytics from being implemented, on the grounds that its not particularly useful information at the moment. (The day after Deadspin contacted Spanfeller for comment, the tech team was given the green light to roll out video analytics. 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.
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