Deadspin Staffers Are Quitting

IfOnlyYouKnew wrote: post #3

Here's (some of) the reasoning from (one of) the horse's mouth: https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/the-adults-in-the-room-183...

The real and less romantic story is this: The journalists at Deadspin and its sister sites, like most journalists I know, are eager to do work that makes money; we are even willing to compromise for it, knowing that our jobs and futures rest on it. An ever-growing number of media owners, meanwhile, are so exceedingly unwilling to reckon with the particulars of their own business that they refuse to accept our eagerness to help them make money.

(...)

A metastasizing swath of media is controlled by private-equity vultures and capricious billionaires and other people who genuinely believe that they are rich because they are smart and that they are smart because they are rich, and that anyone less rich is by definition less smart. They know what they know, and they don’t need to know anything else.

Why don't the journalists who know how to run the business pool their resources up and start a business then? What's stopping them? What do they need those venture capital vultures for?

Re: Deadspin Staffers Are Quitting

#8

Post by and0 » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 11:37 PM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #5

Not sticking to sports is why they failed and needed new management and more invasive ads for revenue in the first place.

They didn't fail. They were doing just fine, but the private equity firm that bought them up wanted them to completely change their editorial style.

Re: Deadspin Staffers Are Quitting

#9

Post by manigandham » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 11:38 PM UTC

kevinh wrote: post #6

manigandham wrote: post #5

Not sticking to sports is why they failed and needed new management and more invasive ads for revenue in the first place.

Do you have any evidence for that claim?

I’m in adtech and know enough publishers. I can’t share exact numbers but readership is way down. Constant political stories and culture outrage doesn’t make good sports reading. Contrast this with barstool sports which is doing well.

Re: Deadspin Staffers Are Quitting

#10

Post by slg » Wed, Oct 30, 2019, 11:38 PM UTC

xyzzyz wrote: post #7

IfOnlyYouKnew wrote: post #3

Here's (some of) the reasoning from (one of) the horse's mouth: https://theconcourse.deadspin.com/the-adults-in-the-room-183...

The real and less romantic story is this: The journalists at Deadspin and its sister sites, like most journalists I know, are eager to do work that makes money; we are even willing to compromise for it, knowing that our jobs and futures rest on it. An ever-growing number of media owners, meanwhile, are so exceedingly unwilling to reckon with the particulars of their own business that they refuse to accept our eagerne…

Journalists aren't exactly known for being paid well. They need resources to start up an outlet and the primary place to get those resources in venture capital which would just start this entire process over again.