Defector

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA·FOUNDED SEPTEMBER 2020·defector.com

Defector is an employee-owned sports and culture website founded by 19 former staffers of Deadspin, funded entirely through reader subscriptions with no outside investors.

Overview

Defector is an employee-owned sports and culture website covering sports, politics, television, movies, science and internet culture. The company, organized as Defector Media LLC and based in New York City with a fully remote staff, is funded almost entirely through reader subscriptions and accepts no outside investment. Each employee-owner holds an equal stake in the company, and the editor-in-chief can be removed by a two-thirds staff vote.

History

Defector was founded by 19 former staffers of Deadspin, the sports website then owned by G/O Media (formerly Gizmodo Media Group, and before that Gawker Media). In October 2019, G/O Media's new private-equity ownership moved to restrict Deadspin's coverage to sports only and fired deputy editor Barry Petchesky; the rest of the site's editorial staff resigned in protest, in one of the highest-profile labor walkouts in online media at the time. Eighteen of the departed Deadspin staffers reunited with Jasper Wang, a former Bain & Company consultant, to launch Defector as a worker-owned cooperative, publicly announcing the venture on July 28, 2020, and beginning regular publication in September 2020. Tom Ley, a former Deadspin features editor, became Defector's editor-in-chief.

As of the company's fifth-anniversary annual report, published in November 2025, all 19 original co-founders were still working at Defector—an unusually low rate of turnover for a digital media company five years into operation. That streak ended in January 2026, when co-founder Dan McQuade died at age 43 following a diagnosis of neuroendocrine cancer.

Dan McQuade (1983–2026), a Defector co-founder and visual editor, died January 2026 following a battle with neuroendocrine cancer.

Notable works

• 2021–presentInvestigations editor Diana Moskovitz, who joined Defector from Deadspin, has continued athlete-safety accountability reporting at Defector, including coverage of the Department of Justice Inspector General's 2021 report on the FBI's mishandled investigation into USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, and continuing oversight reporting on the U.S. Center for SafeSport's handling of abuse complaints across Olympic and college sports.

• July 2025Defector received a multiyear grant from the Press Forward coalition of foundations, in partnership with Start.coop, to build shared operational infrastructure intended to help other worker-owned and independent media companies launch and sustain themselves.

• 2020–presentNormal Gossip, a podcast created by staff writer Kelsey McKinney and developed through Defector's internal podcast pilot process rather than an outside talent agency, became one of the company's largest revenue sources; its ninth-season premiere, released in 2025, featured education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai as a guest.

• July 2020The New York Times published an exclusive report on Defector's launch and sent readers a push notification about the story, reflecting the national attention the Deadspin walkout and its aftermath had drawn.

Key personnel

• Editor-in-ChiefTom Ley

• VP of Revenue & Operations, Co-FounderJasper Wang

• Deputy EditorBarry Petchesky

• Investigations EditorDiana Moskovitz

• Managing EditorSamer Kalaf

• Senior EditorBilly Haisley

• Projects & Podcasts EditorJustin Ellis

• Assignment EditorAlbert Burneko

Audience

Defector's revenue comes almost entirely from reader subscriptions rather than advertising. In its fifth full year of operation (September 2024–August 2025), the company reported approximately $4.65 million in total revenue, including roughly $3.8 million from subscriptions, with the remainder coming from podcast advertising, merchandise, site sponsorships and consulting work for other publications. Subscription prices have remained unchanged since the company's 2020 launch.

Location and contact info

HeadquartersNew York, New York (fully remote staff)

Legal EntityDefector Media LLC

Websitehttps://defector.com