• by Sara Guaglione , March 13, 2020

Sports website Deadspinis back from the dead, publishing its first articles in four months on the G/O Media-owned website.

Deadspin originally planned to relaunch on Monday, March 16, but editor-in-chief Jim Rich wrote: “The news cycle — and the rapidly changing circumstances surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic — wouldn’t wait for such plans. So we are starting a little smaller than we had hoped, but that will change soon.”

His comments were noted in the introductory post “Good News! Deadspin Is Publishing Again. Bad News For Those Unhappy With That? None Of Us Have The Coronavirus Yet.” Rich added: “Right now, we are building our team as we go and expect to be at full force in the coming weeks/months.”

Deadspin’s feature story on the website today is an interview with the NFL's Eric Reid on how the NFL's proposed collective bargaining agreement "reduces player safety benefits & guts disability benefits."

Like some of its sister sites at G/O Media, Deadspin also has a new homepage. It increases the number of stories a visitor can see in a single frame, with fewer ads and faster load speeds.

Other stories on the site today include “Hate In The Time Of Coronavirus: A Guide to Despising Duke — Even When All The Games Have Been Cancelled” and “Screw It. Now That Coronavirus Has Ruined Everything, Let's Expand All Playoffs To Include Every Single Freakin' Team."

Deadspin has hired Carron Phillips, Jesse Spector and Sam Fels, as well as contributors Elizabeth Mitchell and Chuck Modiano. 

Spector worked with Rich at the New York Daily News, where Rich was editor-in-chief. 

On Twitter, Spector discussed the difficulty of finding a full-time sports-writing job and noted that many in the industry “have left journalism entirely.”

“I recognize there still will be some bad feelings out there, but also that anywhere I was going to work in this industry, it was going to be under the umbrella of some kind of corporate goonery," he tweeted.

“Would I have been better off going back to the Daily News, where they’ve gutted an incredible sports department? The Post, which is part of the Murdoch empire? Sports Illustrated, where Maven came in and sent friends packing?”

G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller, with the backing of private-equity firm Great Hill Partners, acquired Gizmodo Media Group (which included Deadspin, Gizmodo, Jezebel, Lifehacker, Splinter, The Root, Kotaku, Earther, Jalopnik, The Onion, Clickhole, The A.V. Club and The Takeout) in April 2019 from Univision.

Last fall, the entire Deadspin staff resigned after former interim editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky was let go, following his refusal to obey management’s orders to focus solely on sports. 

It was the culmination of months of clashes between editorial and management.

Deadspin has not published anything since early November.

Rich was hired in January, and G/O Media moved Deadspin from New York to Chicago.

Earlier this year, Rich said his first task as head of Deadspin was to hire writers and editors. He hopes to assemble a team of about 20, according to Variety. 

“The fact is, I have nothing to do with the previous situation,” Rich told The Wall Street Journal. “I’m coming in cold, and I’m hoping to make the best of what has up to this point been an unfortunate situation, because I think the title has a lot to offer to the world.”

Rich also shared with CNN he “felt comfortable” that he would not be constrained by management in his new role.

"If anybody knows me or knows any of the work that I've done over my career, I think you'll understand quickly that I'm the farthest thing from the stick-to-sports sort of person. It's a lazy form of journalism, and it's an excuse to avoid difficult topics."