Defector Media
Defector Media is a subscription-based sports and culture blog and media company founded in September 2020 and based in Manhattan.
Type of site | Sports, social commentary |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Industry | Sports journalism |
| URL | defector |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required |
| Launched | September 2020 |
| Current status | Active |
The Defector blog is primarily written by former employees of the Deadspin sports blog. In October and November 2019, all writers at Deadspin quit en masse following an edict from the blog's owner, G/O Media, to "stick to sports" and the firing of editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky. On January 31, 2020, Tom Ley and several other former writers established an interim site sponsored by Dashlane, which operated over Super Bowl LIV weekend. The site reopened for the week of April 20, sponsored by a cannabis oil company.
In July 2020, they announced their new subscription-based sports website, Defector Media. Ley is the editor-in-chief. The company has 19 employees, each of whom own approximately 5% of the company. Drew Magary and David Roth debuted a podcast, The Distraction, in partnership with Multitude on August 13.