No media company does. View details on more than 95 Million registered voters across the United States. G/O Media, owner of Gizmodo and The Onion, will post an eight-figure operating profit this year, CEO Jim Spanfeller says. Mr. Rich, who will report to G/O Media Chief Executive Jim Spanfeller, . Jeremy Gordon Oct292019 03:41PM EST. James J. Spanfeller Jr. is an American media executive best known for running Forbes.com from 2001-2009. I was also hiring a good portion of these jobs before I actually took over day to day control of the company. 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. Mad Money Twitter - Jim . Its Extremely Revealing. It became clear that she was not a good fit for this position and we both agreed on this. 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. 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. . Search over 95 Million Voter Registration Records. James J. Spanfeller Jr. is an American media executive best known for running Forbes.com from 20012009. 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. Great Hill Partners and current CEO Jim Spanfeller, formerly of Forbes, bought these sites and the Onion from Univision Communications Inc. in April. Spanfellers executive assistant set up a time for us to meet. Vice president for west coast sales Steve Thompson, who worked with Spanfeller at, Vice president for east coast sales Sean Flanagan, who worked with Spanfeller at. (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. 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. Unlike private equity investors who financially engineer acquisitions, burdening companies they buy with debt and massive . Youre not qualified. I have stood up for and advocated for my team since the day I started at G/O. Details may include related records, political party, location, and more. 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. 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. I think it's all good," said Chris Gaffney, co-founder and managing partner at Great Hill. We sent a request for an explanation and did not receive a response. In a follow-up meeting with Spanfeller about the story, she suggested that hard financial data might not be their audiences central interest. Club executive editor Laura M. Browning and former A.V. Fuck Jim Spanfeller and Paul Maidment. Its something that Im working to improve. Spanfeller admitted he contacted Maidment in June after receiving my initial email requesting an interview. He previously served as President & Chief Executive Officer of Forbes.com, a leading media Internet company, and as Executive Vice President . 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. Jim Spanfeller, Who even told you you were allowed to think about audience? the woman alleged. The anger stems from Spanfellers apparent disregard for his own stated company values, which include a commitment to diversity and inclusion. We have also learned the tech team has been asked to post the survey again. When I followed up about the meeting the next day with Spanfeller, I was told it was canceled. While G/O Media has often placed importance on diversity among their staff and in their coverage, these executive-level jobs went to white males. But those efforts did not go very far, the people said, and the company has yet to mount a takeover. For the life of me, I am not sure how you can have a legal review without a complete story and I cannot imagine how you can consider your work to be objective without reviewing the answers to the questions that you have asked. "We needed to change a lot of things, and change is hard.". Its everything Ive wanted and more.. "[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. So put this piece on ice. Reverse Phone Search Tool And much more all for free! The Deadspin takedown covered numerous issues that have arisen since Univisions sale of the company to Great Hill, ranging from accounts of Spanfeller screaming at past employees, to allegations that the new G/O Media boss is on-boarding his old media buddies over highly qualified women who have worked at the company for years, along with numerous other accusations of mismanagement. 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, but Spanfeller is perhaps best known for dramatically increasing Forbes.coms focus on digital advertising (Spanfeller also previously served as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau). This is normal in situations like these where a new group is coming in and is facing a near term challenge.. Youre not qualified. I am a father of three wonderful woman, Spanfeller wrote in a statement. A leading digital publisher producing category leaders The Daily Meal and The Active Times. 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. 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. 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 was hired by private equity firm Great Hill Partners to run the company after it was purchased from Univision. [5] Upon returning from Europe, Spanfeller took a position at AMP Marketing Systems. 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. 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. 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? 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. But after the staff meeting, sources say, members of the tech team held a meeting with Knight to explain why the date was unrealistic. Steve Thompson, 55, was installed over a female vice president who had been running west coast sales for two and a half years. I think it makes him a bad role model for the rest of his team.. From a womans perspective, I did feel very belittled. Additionally, Jim Spanfeller has had 6 past jobs including CEO at Forbes. 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). Spanfeller also said that he did not ask Katie to fire Susie, only to be in the room while I had the conversation about Susies future with the company., Spanfeller ended up firing Banikarim himself, and then, months later, hiring Angela Persaud for the chief talent officer job after a public search. 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. To hear G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller tell it, everything at his digital media company is going great. 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. Ive reached out to Spanfeller for comment multiple times over the past few days and have yet to hear back. Why Ketanji Brown Jackson Split With the Courts Liberals in a 54 Decision, the firing of beloved editor Barry Petchesky, According to Great Hill Partners website, increasingly insisted on directing editorial coverage. [2][3], Spanfeller graduated from Union College with a B.A. 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. 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 2. Spanfeller said no one told him that a female VP was already successfully performing that job before he hired Thompson. Elsewhere in the company, G/O Media has pushed staffers at its site the AV Club to relocate to Los Angeles from Chicago, according to a recent report in Gawker, which is now owned by Bustle Digital Group. [5], In 1984, Spanfeller was named publisher of Newsweek On Campus magazine. 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. Spanfeller was hired by private equity firm Great Hill Partners to run the company after it was purchased from Univision. Email him here:
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We shall have a discussion on the policy at the next EiCs leads meeting. The VP had a call with McAvoy and Spanfeller to discuss the process, asking Spanfeller why he hadnt even reached out to her about the position. You wrote a 'story,'" Spanfeller recalled telling staff. "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 . They are parti pris, which is why the overwhelming majority do not do so and many will not even report on rivals for the same reason. In 1964, Spanfeller recieved the title of Artist of the Year from the Artists Guild of New York. The post, published Tuesday evening, proved wildly popular on Twitter. I thought she was going to be great, and it didnt work out by her own assessment., In response to follow-up questions, Spanfeller clarified that there was never a signed offer between Pontius and the company. The G/O Media union sent the following statement regarding the survey: The GMG Union has made repeated good-faith efforts to cooperate with management in resolving the many outstanding issues currently facing the company, from workplace accessibility to a video player that lacks viable metrics. 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. I was sorry and that is accurate, he said. Before we go any further, I feel compelled to acknowledge that nearly everything about this item is a conflict of interest. Im kind of a tipsy at a bar in Paris, she added. I was unclear about what she did. This is normal in situations like these where a new group is coming in and is facing a near term challenge. [] While it is what we did at Forbes that has nothing to do with the reason to do it here. On July 25, a pop-up survey appeared on Deadspin asking three questions: How satisfied are you with Deadspin? [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. A source at the company familiar with the situation said Thompsons hire had been flagged to upper management as a potential problem. I think the thing thats most strange about it is that they didnt coordinate with the editorial side of the business. During those meetings, Maidments ideaswhich included commissioning an editor outside the company to review and approve stories written by about the companywere met with unanimous opposition. 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 . (Pontius declined to comment. Spanfeller did offer to promote one female employee, former chief of staff for The Onion Katie Pontius, and make her the companys head of talent, but the position fell through after he demanded that she fire newsroom editorial director Susie Banikarimas her first management move, which Pontius refused, according to sources who spoke to Deadspin. Spanfeller said the company hopes to expand into areas like travel, music, business, and news. This particular set of troubles all started when private equity firm Great Hill Partners purchased GMG and hired Spanfeller, a former Forbes.com CEO, to guide the ship. Top Women at the Company Expressed Interest in Filling Executive Roles and Were Promised Interview Opportunities Prior to Spanfeller Hiring His Friends, Two G/O Media employees Deadspin spoke to, who are women who have an experienced track record with the company, say Spanfeller promised to give them a chance to interview for upper-level roles. View Jim Spanfeller's professional profile on LinkedIn. . Page 1 of 9,554,641. He started screaming at me, Who told you you were allowed to speak about audience? He is currently the CEO of G/O Media which consists primarily of sites that were previously part of Gawker Media. Enter Jim "Herb" Spanfeller. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. 3. I expect to be treated the way I treat people., This pattern played out three more times in Spanfellers first few months as CEO. 4. 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. So Out of Touch: Gen Z Congressman-Elect Mocks RNC Tweet Criticizing Him For His Housing Woes. (Spanfeller denies this claim.). Indeed, two former G/O Media staffers blasted Spanfeller for being stingy with resources. (Deadspin reached out to 10 former Spanfeller employees at The Daily Meal; four consented to be interviewed, though all declined to be named because they fear retribution from Spanfeller or their current companies.) 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. 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. 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. Editorial director Paul Maidment, who worked with Spanfeller at Forbes and The Daily Meal. The other is still in college., Four of nine major hires have been women, Spanfeller said. The sales employee (who is not an SVP) wasnt surprised to hear that Spanfeller didnt know what she did. Spanfeller told Insider that G/O Media plans to reinvest the profits into the business. 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. 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. Two other major jobs Spanfeller gave to women include his new head of talent and deputy counsel, which were both outside hires; he did give a promotion to one woman, who he made deputy editorial director. 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. 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. 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. Justice announced he was switching his party affiliation . In an email read to Deadspin, McAvoy agreed that she was qualified for the role and said he would talk with Spanfeller to ensure she was interviewed for the new opportunity, which had not been posted publicly.