[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. So put this piece on ice. In late July, more than a month after the womans conversation with Spanfeller (and after the Daily Beast and New York Post published stories about his rocky early days at the company and he became aware of the reporting process for this story about his hiring practices), that same VP was given what management called a promotion, which Spanfeller noted in his responses to Deadspin, saying that she has been promoted to VP Marketing under Bruce Rogers with wider responsibilities., I am at the same level and performing the same duties now as I was before I got this supposed promotion, the VP said. In addition to poor planning and communication around the video player, multiple sources say Spanfeller wouldnt allow the tech team to implement video tracking analytics on JW Player, so no one had any idea how many views videos were getting. Like many media companies, G/O Media's advertising business was battered by the pandemic. Clashes between the Gawker Media editorial culture and the company's new private equity owner seemed inevitable from the start. 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 Popular Gaming Website Kotaku Might Be Going Away In Wake of . 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. 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. As with any reporting process, we asked questions intending to incorporate the answers. Ive reached out to Spanfeller for comment multiple times over the past few days and have yet to hear back. Ad revenue rebounded, Spanfeller told Insider last year. [5], In 1984, Spanfeller was named publisher of Newsweek On Campus magazine. I Close-Read the 113-Page Complaint Trying to Ban the Abortion Pill in Texas. 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. Spanfeller said no one told him that a female VP was already successfully performing that job before he hired Thompson. [5] Upon returning from Europe, Spanfeller took a position at AMP Marketing Systems. 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. On July 25, a pop-up survey appeared on Deadspin asking three questions: How satisfied are you with Deadspin? Republican Strategist Goes Scorched Earth on CPAC Scam, Rips Professional Grassroots Huckster Wing of the GOP, Biden Has Worked More Days Than Congress: Fox Newss Jesse Watters Mocks House GOP Schedule, Nothingburger Probes, CPAC Crowd Stands and Cheers as Raging Steve Bannon Vows to Bring Down Fox News: Were Going To Fight You Every Step Of The Way!, Florida Bill Requiring Bloggers to Register with Government Wont Survive Court Challenge, Says UF Law Prof, CPAC Crowd Cheers Wildly as Matt Gaetz Demands Congress Defund Federal Law Enforcement, They Are Lying: Tucker Carlson Reveals Why He Will Air Hidden Surveillance Jan 6th Footage Next Week, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Please Just Shut the Hell Up: Michael Steele Tells Fool Congresswoman She Has No Clue, Former Federal Prosecutor Says Rupert Murdoch Agreed with The Worst Possible Sentence in His Deposition, CNN Anchor Asks Chuck Schumer If Democratic Senators Should Still Go On Fox News In Light of Dominion Revelations, DeSantis Snaps at Reporter When Pressed On What He Would Do Differently From Biden in Ukraine, Elon Musk Blames Media for Being Racist Against Whites & Asians in Defense of Scott Adams Racist Comments, WATCH: Malcolm Nance Lashes Out at Trump MAGA Cultists In Congress Who Literally Stand for Genocide, Musks Twitter is Failing to Remove Child Porn, Even Some of the Easiest to Detect and Eliminate: NY Times Analysis, Right-Wing Twitter Mocks MSNBC Clip on Racist Alt-Right Memes Except Its 5 Years Old. I realized that I wasnt communicating my advocacy for the department or our initiatives to upper management and other departments back to the team clearly enough. Deadspin's entire editorial staff is gone - The Washington Post View details on more than 95 Million registered voters across the United States. Cramer finally reveals whether he is pro-Trump or anti-Trump - CNBC That union's collective bargaining agreement expires in February. 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,. Jack Crosbie, a former Splinter contractor and co-owner of Discourse, said that traffic declined at Splinter because G/O did not refill lost positions. Emma Carmichael is a friend of mine, and we both worked at Gawker Media and, as it was later named after being purchased by Univision, Gizmodo Media Group, or GMG. 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.". When asked by Deadspin why he wouldnt name an interim editor while that search took place in order to stabilize the site and ensure that the people filling in were properly compensated for their work, Spanfeller said that the Onion union demanded that we immediately promote two people into those roles. Club executive editor Laura M. Browning and former A.V. Spanfeller said he did not recall the specific request. The person hired was Bruce Rogers, who most recently ran the institute arm of SITO Mobile, a mobile data company. 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. This is normal in situations like these where a new group is coming in and is facing a near term challenge. "We want to do it in a way that's a little more buttoned up," he said. (check all that apply). G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller says the company is profitable and ready Additionally, as you are reporting here, there are numerous outstanding people, both men and women who have worked for me on more than one occasion., By July, Spanfellers third full month at the company, questions about Spanfellers commitment to his journalists editorial independence began to dominate conversation in the office. 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. G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller Tells Employees to 'Brace for Impact' of Mr. Spanfeller has a BA in English Literature from Union College, Schenectady, New York. 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. Jim has a different recollection of the facts, McAvoy reiterated. "[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. Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. James J. Spanfeller is president of The Spanfeller Group, a management consultancy focusing on digital strategy, audience development, revenue acceleration and talent acquisition. When confronted with this negative feedback, Spanfeller insisted that he cannot be sexist because he has daughters. Another was more direct: Thats Jim wanting to be in control. 15 Life Hacks That Are Actually Pretty Good 17,580. These vacant roles have yet to be filled and Spanfeller has not announced an interim editor. I think the thing thats most strange about it is that they didnt coordinate with the editorial side of the business. 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. During an internal sales summit meeting in New York on June 19, sales execs practiced pitching G/O Medias general presentation, a deck of about 15 slides that tells clients why they should do business with the company. Former CEO of http://Forbes.com, Chairman Emeritus, IAB, Sec OPA NYCJoined April 2009 266Following 1,878Followers Tweets Tweets & replies Media Likes Jim Spanfeller's Tweets Jim Spanfeller @JimSpanfeller Mar 13, 2020 Good News! Jim Spanfeller @JimSpanfeller Founder of http://TheDailyMeal.comand http://TheActiveTimes.com. [He] wasnt interested in hearing what someone with 20 years of experience would say.. In a follow-up meeting with Spanfeller about the story, she suggested that hard financial data might not be their audiences central interest. 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. 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. He previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President . Meanwhile, many people who are still at the company feel their work is being hindered by new management. 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. Laura M. Browning and Caitlin PenzeyMoog, the A.V. Spanfellers all-staff email went on to accuse Deadspins staff of bias and cast doubt on the motives behind the story. Reverse Phone Search Tool And much more all for free! I found this troubling but was okay with it given the circumstances. I have stood up for and advocated for my team since the day I started at G/O. About their hires, he wrote, I introduced Steve and Lance to Mike McAvoy, but I did not make the hires. 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. The SVP shared her teams revenue goals and their success in meeting those goals, staying focused on numbers and her teams value because she knew her work would be key to profit margins. I am and will continue to be a very strong advocate for my team.. They include: (Spanfeller declined to be interviewed in person but answered emailed questions. Its Extremely Revealing. Thats not reality, a tech staffer told Deadspin. WV Gov. Justice switching political parties, returning to GOP These two highly talented HR executives then met with a number of people around our company including representatives of the unions., When asked why Spanfeller didnt follow this thorough search process before filling seven key positions with his former coworkers, he blamed his hiring practices on the financial shape of the company. Email him here: caleb@mediaite.com But those efforts did not go very far, the people said, and the company has yet to mount a takeover. 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. Find Out With This Weeks News Quiz. Before he started full time in early June, Flanagan was brought in as a consultant just after Spanfeller took over G/O Media. He is currently the CEO of G/O Media which consists primarily of sites that were previously part of Gawker Media. 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. Its something that Im working to improve. The appropriate thing to do would be to talk to the editorial side of the business and have a clear objective for the survey.. 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. The four women who Spanfeller counts as major hires include two he hired (head of talent and deputy counsel); one he promoted from within to executive managing editor; and a yet-to-be-filled position he says he plans to offer to a woman. [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. Text. I was also hiring a good portion of these jobs before I actually took over day to day control of the company. 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. Initially, we had to move fast because the company was losing money at a rapid pace, he said. Jun 8, 2020, 7:03 AM. 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.. He also claimed to have hired four women for major roles though, one of these jobs has not been filled yet, as Spanfeller instead claims he plans to give it to a woman. He started screaming at me, Who told you you were allowed to speak about audience? "There's a fly and he's a swatter, and that's it," the former executive said. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. "The fact that we could acquire it at a price that would make it one of our smallest investments is that good or bad? Steve Riley on February 14, 2013: Just right off the bat. 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. Where people are registered to vote. 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 each site. 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. Oberlander actually left last week. 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. A leading digital publisher producing category leaders The Daily Meal and The Active Times. The CEO alleged. 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. They cant even pitch effectively, said another employee who was present. Spanfeller Media is working to redefine content for the digital era. The job, however, came with a condition, they said: Pontiuss first order of business would be to fire newsroom editorial director Susie Banikarim. 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. It has introduced real uncertainty in to stocks, and Trump's agenda has become shaky. 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. In one instance in which Spanfeller tried to promote a woman within the company, his offer came with strings attached. 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. For instance, Rogers, who sits in a corner office in New York, still hasnt been formally announced as a new employee internally or externally, and sources who work in sales say its unclear what his job description is, though he evidently has plenty of time to contribute to Forbes, where he posted 14 articles in July. In addition to the removal of the post itself, Carmichael also discovered that shes now unable to use her personal Kinja account at all. Everything theyve done in reaction to it is the herbiest shit I could possibly imagine. Whats left of that company is currently called G/O Media. Great Hill Partners and current CEO Jim Spanfeller, formerly of Forbes, bought these sites and the Onion from Univision Communications Inc. in April. Steve Thompson, 55, was installed over a female vice president who had been running west coast sales for two and a half years. []. 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 . 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.". Spanfeller admitted he contacted Maidment in June after receiving my initial email requesting an interview. I expect to be treated the way I treat people., This pattern played out three more times in Spanfellers first few months as CEO. [12][13], In 2011, Spanfeller launched The Daily Meal with an estimated $2 million investment.
Sarasota Memorial Hospital Infusion Center,
What To Do If You Eat A Ghost Pepper,
Articles J