The media is finally suffering the inevitable effects of financial predation and is now crying about the very “economic efficiencies” they used to celebrate in the industrial sector:
Their employees call them “soulless” and “vultures” — as does presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Their focus on cost cutting has sparked newsroom rebellions. And they are snapping up more and more of the media landscape.
These days, whenever there is an uprising in the media business, the chances are that a private equity firm is involved. The latest clash happened this week at the sports website Deadspin, where the interim editor in chief said he was fired for refusing to limit the site’s focus to sports coverage. Afterward, at least eight journalists resigned in protest, including more than half of the site’s writers.
Sanders, the independent Vermont senator seeking the Democratic nomination for president, chimed in late Thursday with a tweet supporting Deadspin workers and lambasting Jim Spanfeller, chief executive officer of Deadspin parent G/O Media.
G/O Media is a collection of websites owned by the private equity firm Great Hill Partners. Two months earlier, Deadspin’s former editor in chief also quit, claiming that Great Hill Partners wanted to cash out quickly rather than invest in the long-term growth of the site.
It’s never quite as fun when it’s your own ox getting gored, is it? Learn to code….