I read that she's a registered Republican in Texas. These vacant roles have yet to be filled and Spanfeller has not announced an interim editor. Spanfeller admitted he contacted Maidment in June after receiving my initial email requesting an interview. 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. 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. 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 Asked for a response to the latter allegation, Spanfeller responded, That is absurd. I am a father of three wonderful woman, Spanfeller wrote in a statement. DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION are core to our culture, and we expect all staff to advance and promote that. Heartened, the SVP emailed Spanfeller to remind him of their meeting in April and express her hope that women, people of color, and people who identify as LGBTQ would be considered as he hired his leadership team, and to say that she looked forward to discussing her role in the organization. Never mind the recent exodus of company leadership under his tenure, including the editorial director, chief financial officer, and chief revenue officer. "People are scared of him. Who even told you you were allowed to think about audience? the woman alleged. The company is also on the hunt for acquisitions, according to Spanfeller. [He] wasnt interested in hearing what someone with 20 years of experience would say.. 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. Whenever a publication shuts down, as has happened more and more over the last few years, it undergoes a public eulogizing by its employees, the friends of its employees, the people who wanted to work there, and most importantly the readers, whose tributes are . "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. [9], In 1996, Spanfeller left his job at Inc., where he had become publisher, to become publisher of Yahoo! Political affiliation. We have no credibility in writing about ourselves. This Is How Things Work Now At G/O Media - Deadspin 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. 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. According to multiple sources familiar with the situation, in April Spanfeller offered the job of head of talent to Katie Pontius, who until recently was the chief of staff for The Onion, Inc. Deadspin's entire editorial staff is gone - The Washington Post James J. Spanfeller is president of The Spanfeller Group, a management consultancy focusing on digital strategy, audience development, revenue acceleration and talent acquisition. This is the same thing that has also happened to Deadspin. Voting precincts and districts. Political affiliation means the state of belonging to or endorsing any political party. 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. [4] He soon switched to the business side of the paper, and later took a tour through Europe. (Spanfeller says this is inaccurate and that he did consider other candidates for the editorial director role, but Paul quickly rose to the top after he expressed an interest in the position.) Three of the men Spanfeller hired were installed over successful women who had been at the company for years. On Glassdoor, a website where current and former employees can submit anonymous reviews of their workplaces, reviews of The Daily Meal are overwhelmingly negative. I had experience and confidence in the people who were hired. He previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President . 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. On July 25, a pop-up survey appeared on Deadspin asking three questions: How satisfied are you with Deadspin? Sole dedication to revenue, getting it the cheapest, quickest way possible. Views. Jim Spanfeller Biography | Booking Info for Speaking Engagements Oberlander actually left last week. The employees, nearly all of whom requested anonymity because of fears of retaliation from company management, are angered by a lack of communication regarding company goals, seeming disregard for promoting diversity within the top ranks of the company, and by repeated and egregious interference with editorial procedures. Hes trying to micromanage, the tech employee said last week. At the same time we are still exploring all options to get this work done by August 15th.. Laura M. Browning and Caitlin PenzeyMoog, the A.V. 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 . Like many media companies, G/O Media's advertising business was battered by the pandemic. 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. 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. He started screaming at me, Who told you you were allowed to speak about audience? Other top employees who have left the company since the start of Spanfellers reign include former A.V. 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. 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. Flanagan volunteered to go first, and what followed wasnt overwhelmingly inspiring, as one sales employee who was at the meeting put it: Flanagan read word for word what was on the slides, two people present confirmed. Asked about the meeting, Knight initially didnt answer. A spokesperson for G/O has yet to respond to a request for clarification, but we will update this post if and when that changes. As I said in the article, some of the celebs I mentioned could have changed their political leanings. 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. "We were a leftist site, not a liberal one, which gives you a sense of how closely Spanfeller followed our work," he said. He did not answer a question about whether he was aware that a female VP was already leading west coast sales or that he installed a man (who also carries a VP title) above her. Spanfeller Media Group - Wikipedia Internet Life, a joint publication of Ziff-Davis and Yahoo!. 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. At least have everybody well briefed on this is what were doing and this is what wed like to learn from it, Reibstein said. 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. (check all that apply). Or knowledgeable writers?, Asked about the survey, Rogers said he thinks its responses will accurately and fully reflect Deadspin readers opinions of the site. 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. Gizmodo Media Staff Enraged at New CEO's 'Insane' Direction [5] Upon returning from Europe, Spanfeller took a position at AMP Marketing Systems. "We needed to change a lot of things, and change is hard.". ), The internal reaction to these hires has ranged from confusion to anger. WV Gov. Justice switching political parties, returning to GOP Ad revenue rebounded, Spanfeller told Insider last year. pretty big scoop from me Jim Spanfeller is a herb https://t.co/gZDCs6mfhC. That management did not respond to our request for an explanation is only another of the many ways the workers at GMG have been ignored and put on the back burner in the name of a profitability mirage that is clearly more attractive to the big decision-makers than a functioning workplace. The key journalistic properties descended from . Spanfeller said he did not recall the specific request. I hired Katie who accepted the job, he wrote. Spanfeller, who became head of the digital media company when GMG was purchased by private equity firm Great Hill Partners, told staff that he expected the site's direct advertising to "take the. Jim Rich, the former Daily News editor charged with bringing Deadspin back to life following a mass staff exodus, has resigned after just 18 months on the job, The Post has learned. Jim Spanfeller Analyzes Public Policy - Big Think Great Hill Partners is a growth equity company committed to building businesses. Six days after the SVPs exchange with McAvoy, Spanfeller sent an email to the entire staff announcing G/O Medias new company values. In two cases, women asked for and were promised the opportunity to interview for executive-level positions for which they were qualified, only to see Spanfeller hire one of his former colleagues before they were given a chance to interview. Spanfeller Hired Media Friends/Former Colleagues to Fill G/O Media Roles Just After Claiming He Had No Plans for Major Turnover. Throughout his career he has recieved more than 60 awards for his work from such . Nearly two dozen current G/O Media employees spoke to Deadspin for this story. . That is absurd. G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller said the company would become "nicely profitable" by the end of the year, after it's been . 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. 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. A source said Spanfeller told editors-in-chief of the companys websites that he had chosen Maidment, 68, for the job before the sale was completed and did not interview other candidates, including Banikarim. Mr. McAvoy was clear to me on his opinion that he did not think she was the right choice at this time, Spanfeller said. Holle Abee (author) from Georgia on February 14, 2013: Duff performed at W's inauguration. I have definitely given positive feedback to numerous women, including senior executives in edit, sales, and marketing, he offered instead. Six of these hires were Spanfellers colleagues from his previous jobs at Forbes, Playboy, and Ziff Davis. 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. Indeed, two former G/O Media staffers blasted Spanfeller for being stingy with resources. That union's collective bargaining agreement expires in February. "You're not a 'blogger,' you're a professional journalist. That union also opposes G/O Media's recent requirement to return to in-person work. 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. 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. Greenwell told Maidment she was unwilling to shut down an ongoing reporting process in response to management demands, and Maidment continued to make his argument against the idea of reporting on G/O Mediaa hallmark of the company since its earliest days, as well as a tradition at other major publicationsin several meetings with the editors and writers he oversees. Another former Daily Meal staffer said that management was straight-up scared of Spanfeller, adding, I can see why. We shall have a discussion on the policy at the next EiCs leads meeting. LinkedIn is the world's largest business network, helping professionals like Jim Spanfeller discover inside connections to recommended . (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. 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. 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. Answering a similar one, he seemed to contradict himself: This concern was expressed to me and I take it very seriously. Maidment never responded to my questions directly; the first time I saw his answers was when they were included in Spanfellers company-wide email, but he had this to say about his role in the newsroom: I have always shielded the editorial teams I have managed from commercial or business-side interference in what they write, which to my mind is the essence of editorial integrity. Two are now successfully navigating careers in the digital advertising space. 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. He would stop into peoples offices with the doors open and scream at them, so everyone knew what was going on., 5. 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? 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. Additionally, Jim Spanfeller has had 6 past jobs including CEO at Forbes. This response, which Spanfeller emailed out along with the questions to and answers from every other executive to the entire company as an attempt to undermine this story, prompted this response from a third sales employee. Use this information as you see fit. 15 Life Hacks That Are Actually Pretty Good 17,580. I have communicated our timeline concerns to Jim and he understands that development is not an exact science and that goals may not be hit, Knight told Deadspin. Jim Rich, the former top editor of the New York Daily News, will start as editor-in-chief of Deadspin on Monday. That the story has been submitted for legal review without the benefit of our responses leads me to the conclusion that the piece is already fully written and that our responses to questions are mere window dressing. 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. Voter Registration Records Mad Money Twitter - Jim . 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. Reverse Phone Search Tool And much more all for free! 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. Gaffney and Spanfeller said that G/O Media is looking for acquisitions itself. Jim Spanfeller - Wikipedia 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 . 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. I was sorry and that is accurate, he said. View details on more than 95 Million registered voters across the United States. Before he started full time in early June, Flanagan was brought in as a consultant just after Spanfeller took over G/O Media. When confronted with this negative feedback, Spanfeller insisted that he cannot be sexist because he has daughters. Ex-Deadspin EIC Jim Rich resigns in latest turmoil at G/O Media Takeaways From Deadspin's Expos of G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller 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.. Jim Spanfeller - CEO - G/O Media | LinkedIn He sits on the Board of Directors of The New York Chapter of The National Foundation for Teaching . 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. Search over 95 Million Voter Registration Records. In the email, Spanfeller said he was "greatly concerned about the objectivity and core intentions of this piece," and questioned the editorial standards of Deadspin's editors. Think Youre Smarter Than a What Next Producer? We have also learned the tech team has been asked to post the survey again. At an all-staff meeting this week, Knight told Spanfeller that August 15 is the target completion date, which Spanfeller told Deadspin he believes is achievable. I intend to continue supervising the reporting process, including legal review, and then publish a thorough and fair story, which of course would include responses from people we spoke to. 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. 4. 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. Jim Spanfeller - Big Think Justice announced he was switching his party affiliation . Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. As traffic dipped and employees headed for the exits, staffers at the company wrote a letter to Great Hill asking that Spanfeller be replaced as CEO. (Pontius declined to comment. The job, however, came with a condition, they said: Pontiuss first order of business would be to fire newsroom editorial director Susie Banikarim. The JW Player was an interim step, Spanfeller said. 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. (10 is very satisfied, 1 is very unsatisfied); What do you like MOST about Deadspin? So put this piece on ice. "[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.