jim spanfeller political affiliation

He is currently the CEO of G/O Media which consists primarily of sites that were previously part of Gawker Media. 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. I expect to be treated the way I treat people., This pattern played out three more times in Spanfellers first few months as CEO. At the same time, working with the EICs to set a general editorial direction is clearly in the purview of any owner.). In an email, Flanagan disagreed with those assessments: Simply not true. 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. 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. Sports News Without Fear, Favor or Compromise. (Spanfeller denies this claim.). Gaffney said the firm was prepared to hold onto the investment for a decade or more and that Spanfeller, a former Forbes and Playboy executive, does not have a time frame for preparing the company for a sale. When one reviews the actual questions one might feel even more uneasy. 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. My management style has been widely reported on over the years and the picture you are painting does not comport with that. Six days after the SVPs exchange with McAvoy, Spanfeller sent an email to the entire staff announcing G/O Medias new company values. 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. Where people are registered to vote. 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. "There's been a lot of pain in this, but it's worth it to get properties that are as great as these properties are," Spanfeller said of G/O's 11 publications, which include Gizmodo, Jezebel, The Onion, Lifehacker, The Root, and Kotaku. [5] Upon returning from Europe, Spanfeller took a position at AMP Marketing Systems. Jim Rich, the former top editor of the New York Daily News, will start as editor-in-chief of Deadspin on Monday. At least have everybody well briefed on this is what were doing and this is what wed like to learn from it, Reibstein said. The private equity firm was able to snap up the deal for only about $25 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the figure. Its Extremely Revealing. 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. 12-Year-Old Prankster Throws Dead Snake on Woman's Car and Gets Flattened by Husband 15,743. In his email to the staff, Spanfeller described this story as one that had been commissioned by the site, and attempted to paint the reporting process behind it as haphazard and unfair. "We needed to change a lot of things, and change is hard.". I am and will continue to be a very strong advocate for my team.. [11], Spanfeller ran Forbes.com for 8 years from 2001 to 2009, when digital and print operations were run separately. (Spanfeller told Deadspin that he and Callahan had only been in a single meeting that I recall.). A voter's representatives in government. The other is still in college.. Senior vice president of marketing Bruce Rogers, who worked with Spanfeller at Forbes. 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.. 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. The company is also on the hunt for acquisitions, according to Spanfeller. The detection of possible errors in a person's voter record as well as instructions on how to update it. Who even told you you were allowed to think about audience? the woman alleged. Who doesnt like uncompromising commentary or sports stories you couldnt find anywhere else? (check all that apply); and What do you like LEAST about Deadspin? Have a tip or story idea? In other words, G/O media had effectively broken the redirect at Deadspin2.com, so that the site now redirected to a dead link. 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. These vacant roles have yet to be filled and Spanfeller has not announced an interim editor. She told Deadspin she was surprised that Spanfeller seemed to know little about her team, which last year won Digidays best content studio award.. I am a father of three wonderful woman. I was also hiring a good portion of these jobs before I actually took over day to day control of the 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. That is absurd. James J. Spanfeller Jr. is an American media executive best known for running Forbes.com from 20012009. (The other woman on the executive leadership team, general counsel Lynn Oberlander, left the company this week.) A longtime digital media veteran, Spanfeller was an unconventional choice to lead the new Gizmodo Media Group sites (The Daily Beast's CEO, Heather Dietrick, once served as president of the . 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. I hired Katie who accepted the job, he wrote. Spanfeller declined to answer a question about whether he expressed these sentiments to Klancnik. I think the biggest problem was the leadership wouldnt get out of the way of everyone, one former employee told Deadspin. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. Email him here: caleb@mediaite.com That said, I and the management team received a list of questions from the reporter working this story for Deadspin and those questions left me greatly concerned about the objectivity and core intentions of this piece. My territory has been cut in half. "We want to do it in a way that's a little more buttoned up," he said. We have also learned the tech team has been asked to post the survey again. 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. A week after Spanfeller insisted to Variety that he did "not plan to cut our way to growth," the CEO fired 25 employees, including in top positions, such as axing former Gizmodo Media Group. 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. No one has been named interim editor, and there is no succession plan in place. 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. The JW Player was an interim step, Spanfeller said. They requested anonymity to speak candidly but their identities are known to Insider. [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. Ive reached out to Spanfeller for comment multiple times over the past few days and have yet to hear back. Two are now successfully navigating careers in the digital advertising space. 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. On July 30, the day after I emailed reporting questions to Spanfeller, Maidment, Rogers, Jesse Knight, and Sean Flanagan, Spanfeller sent a company-wide email under the subject line Reporting on Ourselves; Deadspin Reporting On The Company and Our Executives. In the email, excerpts of which were published by media reporters from the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post, Spanfeller voiced his opinion on how coverage of the company should work: I believe the solution is to have that reporting reviewed by an impartial outside editor a Public Editor, if you will [] and not just for these situations but for any situation where someone within or without the company has issues with our coverage or reporting. But Spanfellers expectation that the process would be done in the next week or so shocked the tech team. At the time of publication, Carmichaels original tweet has been retweeted more than 300 times. Never mind that employees called for his resignation last year. Which he would do by turning Deadspin into a sports-only website. That union also opposes G/O Media's recent requirement to return to in-person work. Spanfeller Media is working to redefine content for the digital era. Everyone can seeit on the pageor at least, everyone could see it before the censorship. Vice president of sales for the south Lance Johnson, who worked with Spanfeller at Forbes (and most recently worked with Bruce Rogers at a company called SITO Mobile). One of the former staffers said that as companies sought to double down on diversity and inclusion during the summer of 2020, the branded content team received incoming requests from companies hoping to fund content for The Root, G/O Media's Black news publication. Youre not qualified. 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. 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. His skin got bright red, she said. Club, and Splinter, was purchased by the firm in April, along with the satirical news site The Onion, which led to a massive shift in the companys culture and considerable turnover in the top ranks or, as one G/O Media employee put it, Spanfeller has brought in a bunch of white dudes to change the company. 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. I found this troubling but was okay with it given the circumstances. John Taggart for The Washington Post via Getty Images, NOW WATCH: WATCH: How advertisers can navigate the death of third-party cookies, according to execs from Mars Petcare, R/GA, The Washington Post, and The Trade Desk, Clashes between the Gawker Media editorial culture. To hear G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller tell it, everything at his digital media company is going great. 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.. ), Spanfeller described the situation differently. Jim characterized that as a misunderstanding, she said. 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. Sole dedication to revenue, getting it the cheapest, quickest way possible. 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. When pressed, Knight admitted the deadline may be unrealistic. Find Out With This Weeks News Quiz. 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. According to multiple sources inside the company, the post even joined the leading posts from official G/O sites on the big board, a large screen in the companys New York headquarters that displays that moments most highly trafficked storiesan unusual feat for a user-generated post. Steve Thompson, 55, was installed over a female vice president who had been running west coast sales for two and a half years. 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. Jim Spanfeller, Throughout his career he has recieved more than 60 awards for his work from such . 15 Life Hacks That Are Actually Pretty Good 17,580. Jim has a different recollection of the facts, McAvoy reiterated. Former SVP of sales and operations Kurt Mueller had left the company, and McAvoy told the woman Spanfeller was hiring his replacement. 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Heres The REAL Clip, Christian Walker GOES OFF on Predator Matt Schlapp for Allegedly Groping Male Campaign Staffer: Hes Done This Before, Im Sure!, LOL. Political affiliation means the state of belonging to or endorsing any political party. (check all that apply). It will post an eight-figure operating profit this year, he told Insider, and hunt for acquisitions in 2022. A week after Spanfeller insisted to Varietythat he did not plan to cut our way to growth, the CEO fired 25 employees, including in top positions, such as axing former Gizmodo Media Group editorial director Susie Banikarim. 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. (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. Justice announced he was switching his party affiliation . 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 responded that he would be happy to get together, but did not say anything about open roles. 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. Steve Riley on February 14, 2013: Just right off the bat. From a womans perspective, I did feel very belittled. I think it makes him a bad role model for the rest of his team.. 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. Search over 95 Million Voter Registration Records. In the meantime, Carmichael had her own message for Spanfeller: Congratulations on confirming your herb-ishness.. 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. Or as Carmichael explained, If you dont know what a herb is, youre probably a herb.. Most recently, after the latest edict that Deadspin stick to sports, its writers revolted, and Spanfeller retaliated by firing the top-ranking employee, Petchesky (Deadspins latest editor-in-chief, Megan Greenwell quit in August for many of the reasons described above). Sign up for notifications from Insider! "We were a leftist site, not a liberal one, which gives you a sense of how closely Spanfeller followed our work," he said. 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. 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.

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