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This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

Laura Wagner

Media Meltdowns

New York Times Reporter Suggests Entitled Reader Culture Has Become Dangerous And Unacceptable

Sam Bankman-Fried speaks onstage during the first annual Moonlight Gala benefitting CARE - Children With Special Needs - hosted by Michael Cayre, Roy Nachum and MegaMoon Museum at Casa Cipriani on June 23, 2022 in New York City.

Sam Bankman-Fried Is Where Media Patronage Was Always Headed

Albert Burneko

FRANCE - CIRCA 1890: La Sorbonne : chemistry laboratory. Paris, about 1900. (Photo by ND/Roger Viollet via Getty Images)

Journalismism

Any Worthwhile Player Ranking Will Make You So Mad

Tom Ley

What Are The Twitter Files, And Do You Need To Care About Them?

Newspaper Owner Slaps Union Organizer With Burger Bag At Ohio Rest Stop Amid Labor Strike

Lauren Theisen

How Many Trans People Does The New York Times Believe There Should Be?

Screenshot of Olivia Dunne's instagram page.

Death To The NCAA

New York Times Finds Worst Reason To Fret Over NIL Deals

CNN’s Newest Star Is Proudly “Nonpolitical”

Semafor Is The Problem

Energetic Verlander Sibling Has Deep Thoughts In Japan

Axios Employees Instructed To Use Axios Funds To Buy Six Copies Each Of Axios Founders’ Dumb Book

In this photo illustration the American newspaper The New York Times (NYT) logo seen displayed on a smartphone with USD (United States dollar) currency in the background.

The New York Times Is Outgrowing Itself

Samer Kalaf

College Football

Manti Te’o Picks A New Ending For His Story


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

A Defector racecar with various Defector logos done in the style of somecorporate logos

Which Strategic Acquisitions Should Defector Make?

If The Washington Post Is Giving Sports Betting Advice, Anyone Will

A GateHouse Media owned Palm Beach Post and the Gannett Co. owned USA Today are seen for sale at a newsstand on August 05, 2019 in Palm Beach, Florida. The Post now is also owned by Gannett

Capital

With Newspaper Owners Like Gannett, Who Needs Enemies?

Politics

Shameless Fraud Goes Home

February 1939: View of rows of newspapers from various American cities sitting in the racks of a newsstand, Times Square, New York City.

This Is Not The Way To Help Local News

A hand covered in fentanyl. With a caption: 'Figure 1. Hand and Wrist Visibly Soiled with Fentanyl. Note: Larger liquid volumes appear more visible, however nearly full surface area was exposed. Arrow shows 0.5cm abrasion.'

Cops Are Still Fainting When They Touch Fentanyl

You May Think Things Are Bad, But Have You Considered How Cheap Hammers Are Now?

New York Times Boss Re-Re-Explains “No Politics” Rule To The Athletic Staffers

The NESN broadcast booth with Dennis Eckersley, Dave O'Brien, and Kevin Youkilis

Your Guide To The Kevin-Heavy Red Sox TV Booth Carousel

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<div>Casey Taylor is a writer living and working in Pittsburgh. He is currently writing a book for St. Martin&#8217;s Press about cannabis religions, Haile Selassie I, and the Cold War in the Caribbean. He also writes a free newsletter called <a href="https://weedchurch.substack.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://weedchurch.substack.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1709306863919000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1mVH2xiID6S0zvlyj6yHco">Weed Church</a> covering foolish spiritual things that occur to him. His work has appeared in The New Republic, WIRED, New York Magazine, and a sports blog he can’t currently recall the name of. You can <a href="mailto:caseyt7@gmail.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a> him if you’d like.</div>
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Casey Taylor

An effigy of Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, dressed as a January 6, 2021, insurrectionist is placed near the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 25, 2021. - Protester set up effigies of Big Tech CEO's as the US Congress holds hearings March 25 about the spread of disinformation and misinformation on their platforms. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)