Deadspin Defies New Owner Univision by Re-Publishing Deleted Stories
Deadspin, the online sports outlet recently acquired by Univision along with other Gawker Media properties, has re-published two articles which Univision deleted.
The subject of both posts was former major league pitcher and television analyst Mitch Williams, who is suing the MLB Network for breach of contract following his termination, which happened after Deadspin published the stories. The posts chronicled Williams’s behavior as a little league coach, in which, per Deadspin’s reporting, he frequently used profanity in front of children, and ordered one of his pitchers to throw inside and hit a player on the other team.
Tuesday, the site published a new story about the Williams case — which offered little new information, and whose primary purpose, seemingly, was to give Deadspin an excuse to re-post the deleted articles.
The act of defiance comes one day after the Gawker Media Editorial Union issued a statement condemning the deletion of the stories “in the strongest possible terms.”
“It sets an alarming precedent both for our relationship with our new owners and for the business of journalism as a whole,” the statement said. “It is unacceptable for a publisher to delete legitimate and true news stories for business reasons.
The six deleted posts had been the target of lawsuits, and Univision concluded that they might still be held liable for their content. The Gawker Media Editorial Union called the lawsuits “frivolous or malicious.”
Yesterday, our Josh Feldman reported that there was an “emergency union meeting” to discuss the possibility of a walkout. The union was scheduled to meet with Univision executive Issac Lee today.
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