One of the biggest staff rebellions in online media took place last year, when all of the journalists working at the irreverent, sports-centric website Deadspin resigned in protest after clashing with their bosses. Now Deadspin’s former writers and editors—18 of the roughly 20 who quit last year—have reunited to start a digital media company, Defector Media, that they will own and operate themselves. (NYT)
The Defector website is expected to launch in September while its first podcast will drop in two weeks. Deadspin’s former features editor Tom Ley will be the editor in chief of the site. (Mediaite)
Defector will function like a cooperative, owned and operated by the writers, and without any outside investment. According to the Times, each writer will receive a 5 percent stake in the new venture. (WaPo)
According to the Times, Defector will be funded through editorial subscriptions which start at $8 per month. (Business Insider)