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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

Samer Kalaf

A screenshot of Gizmodo Bot's author page, with one bad Star Wars blog

Journalismism

G/O Media’s Bot-Written Blogs May Be Unreadable, But At Least They’re Incorrect

Alex Pareene

Reddit logo is seen on an android mobile device with an ascent growth chart in the background.

Capital

The Last Page Of The Internet

Patrick Redford

The Messenger's white-text on blue-field logo.

The Messenger Hasn’t Yet Disrupted Anything But Its Own Newsroom

Laura Wagner

Protesters face off with a line of police officers during a rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols outside the LAPD headquarters, in Los Angeles, California, on January 27, 2023. - The US city of Memphis released January 27, 2023 graphic video footage depicting the fatal police assault of a 29-year-old Black man, as cities nationwide braced for a night of protests against police brutality. Five Memphis officers, also all Black, were charged with second-degree murder in the beating of Tyre Nichols, who died in hospital on January 10 three days after being stopped on suspicion of reckless driving. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)

Policing

Journalist Ben Camacho On Facing Petty LAPD-Driven Lawsuit: “It’s The Biggest Gaslight Of My Life”

David Roth

Former President Donald Trump arrives for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 4, 2023.

Politics

It Only Seems Unprecedented

A Roundtable On The Free Speech Implications Of The New York Times Trans Letter Debate

Stuffed rabbits copulating are on display at the Palais de la Decouverte (scientific museum) in Paris on October 23, 2012 as part of an exhibition.

How To Have More Sex

Soccer

Qatar Is Already Hassling Journalists At The World Cup

CNN’s Newest Star Is Proudly “Nonpolitical”

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

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


Dan McQuade

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

Under NYT Ownership, The Athletic Lays Down “No Politics” Rule For Staff

Defector’s Valuation Is $333 Million, According To Very Real Business Math

Axios To Staff: Our Values Are Cynically Engineered And Incoherent

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<p>Charles P. Pierce is a writer at <em>Esquire</em> and the author of four books, most recently <em>Idiot America</em>, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div>
<div class="author-header-shares"></div>


Charles P. Pierce

Tiger Woods celebrates on the eighteenth green after winning the 1997 Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, on April 13 1997. Woods finished with a record eighteen-under-par. / AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

Golf

Tiger Woods, But Not Me, 25 Years Later

Dave McKenna

Elder Wisdom

The Little Font That Could

Three men in suits smiling as the man in the centre points to an article in a newspaper, which is spread out on the desk before them, circa 1945. Also on the desk are a telephone, an ashtray, and a small pile of books. (Photo by Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Media Meltdowns

Quiz! Which New Media Company With An Innovative Solution For Fixing The News Industry Said This?

“No One Knows Anything”: Staffers At The Athletic Wait In The Dark Following NYT Deal

Albert Burneko

The Media Smiths Have A Bold New Idea

The Supreme Court Is Working As Designed

This Is Just The Same Old Shit

An ad for the Carlos Watson show. A quote calls him "Anderson Cooper Meets Oprah" on it.

Ozy Media Is A Monumental Bummer

Kelsey McKinney

Zillowing Out

A $300,000 New Hampshire Tunnel Home Full Of Dead Ends

Tennis

Naomi Osaka’s Agent Isn’t Helping

Old headlines about how Marijuana led to killings

The Myth Of Cops Overdosing From Touching Fentanyl Persists For A Reason

media