Last Updated on: 22nd June 2023, 11:07 am
When last we spoke of Deadspin, dumb ass ownership was doing its level best to fuck the whole thing up. And shortly after I posted that, it succeeded. The entire editorial staff quit, and the site went silent for nearly four months.
But as of a few days ago, it is no longer silent. It’s up and publishing again, slowly but surely, complete with a new slate of writers that are very obviously trying to figure out what their voice is supposed to be. They seem to have the silly stick to sports bit down, but if you’re looking for anything must read, so far you likely won’t find it. It’s not completely awful and it’s absolutely still early. There could be good stuff to come. But right now what’s there is just there, nothing more. I’m going to give it a chance to become something, but I doubt it’s ever going to be our Deadspin again.
2023 update:
Since I wrote this back in 2020, I’ve pretty much given up on Deadspin. It has its moments, but it’s absolutely not something that holds my interest for long or that I need to read every day. For the last couple of years, the time, attention and money that I would have devoted to Deadspin now goes to Defector.
For all intents and purposes, Defector is Deadspin. It’s run and written for by many of the folks who made Deadspin fun before it was killed, and all of the unpredictability you knew and loved is there every day. It’s well worth your subscription dollars, if you have those.
From their About Us page:
Defector is an employee-owned sports and culture website.
We write about sports, politics, TV, movies, science, weird shit that happens on the internet, and anything else that catches our attention, because we believe that a good publication is one that reflects the genuine interests and obsessions of its staff.
We started this company because media is fucked now. We want to be a website that you will actually want to read. We hope to give you a publication that exists not just as a name that occasionally pops up in your various social media feeds, but as a daily destination. We aren’t here to gratify ourselves or churn out “content,” a word wholly devoid of ideas and values, but to create good work that will earn your loyal readership.
We’re a subscription-based business. Our goal is to create a financially stable and independent publication that exists for reasons beyond squeezing out profits for some people in a boardroom, or fattening itself up for an acquisition. We hope you’ll join us.
