Deadspin still exists as a brand. All of the names and writers that helped build the brand’s image and loyal following are gone though and on Tuesday those writers announced that they are launching their own company called Defector Media.
Defector launches next month with a podcast. A full site is expected to launch in September according to the New York Times. Tom Ley will serve as the editor-in-chief. Readers will be charged $8 per month for a subscription.
The new company was founded by 18 of the 20 Deadspin writers that resigned en mass last year without any outside investment. Each writer will have a 5% stake in the company. Jasper Wang, a longtime Deadspin reader and former Baine & Company employee has been brought in to run the business side of Defector.
The 18 writers resigned from Deadspin after the site was reprimanded for publishing an investigative piece that was critical of the site’s parent company G/O Media. Since the departure, Ley says he and his staff have felt lost and “adrift” in trying to find something that matched the energy and attitude of the original Deadspin.
“If we felt that way, it’s likely there are pretty significant numbers of former readers who felt that way and would be willing to pay money to have that kind of publication come back,” Ley said.
