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''Deadspin'' is a sports blog owned by Lineup Publishing. Founded by Will Leitch in 2005 and originally based in Chicago, it was then sold to
Gawker Media Gawker Media LLC (formerly Blogwire, Inc. and Gawker Media, Inc.) was an American internet media company and Link farm#Blog network, blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was based in New York City. Incorpor ...
,
Univision Communications TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American mass media, media company headquartered in Miami and Mexico City that owns American Spanish language broadcast network Univision and free-to-air channels in Mex ...
and
G/O Media G/O Media Inc. is an American media holding company that owns and operates the digital media outlets '' Kotaku'' and '' The Root''. It was formed in 2019 after the private equity firm Great Hill Partners purchased two digital portfolios from ...
. Lineup Publishing acquired it in March 2024, then laid off the entire editorial staff. The blog is operational on 8 November, 2024. ''Deadspin'' posted daily previews, recaps, and commentaries of major sports stories, as well as sports-related anecdotes, rumors, and videos. In addition to covering sports, the site wrote about the media,
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
, and politics, and published several non-sports sub-sections, including ''The Concourse'' and the humor blog ''Adequate Man.'' Contrasting with traditional sports updates of other outlets, ''Deadspin'' was known for its irreverent, conversational tone, often injecting crude humor into its writing and taking a critical lens to the topics it covered. Over time, the site expanded into more
investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...
and broke several stories, including the revelation of the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax. Alumni writers of ''Deadspin'' have gone on to work for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', and ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'', and established
Defector Media ''Defector Media'' is a subscription-based sports and culture blog and media company founded in September 2020 and based in Manhattan. The Defector blog is primarily written by former employees of the ''Deadspin'' sports blog. In October and No ...
. During October and November 2019, the website's entire writing and editorial staff resigned due to conflicts with G/O Media management over a directive to " stick to sports" content only. ''Deadspin'' began publishing content again in March 2020. The site has suffered after the mass resignations, reportedly attracting only 10.22% of its previous readership. In March 2024, G/O Media sold ''Deadspin'' to Lineup Publishing; as a result of the sale, the site's entire staff was laid off.


History

''Deadspin'' was founded in December 2005 by editor-in-chief Will Leitch, an author and at that time a founding editor of the New York City-based culture website, "The Black Table", in his New York City apartment, where he wrote 40 blog posts a day. The blog joined the
Gawker Media Gawker Media LLC (formerly Blogwire, Inc. and Gawker Media, Inc.) was an American internet media company and Link farm#Blog network, blog network. It was founded by Nick Denton in October 2003 as Blogwire, and was based in New York City. Incorpor ...
network of websites. Leitch announced on June 5, 2008, that he would be leaving to take a position at '' New York'' magazine. He was replaced by A. J. Daulerio, former senior writer for the site. Author and journalist Drew Magary, formerly a frequent contributor to the site's comments section, joined as an editor and chief columnist in 2008. ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine named the site one of the 50 coolest websites of 2006. ''Deadspin'' was one of six websites that were purchased by
Univision Communications TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American mass media, media company headquartered in Miami and Mexico City that owns American Spanish language broadcast network Univision and free-to-air channels in Mex ...
in its acquisition of Gawker Media in August 2016. The
Gizmodo Media Group Gizmodo Media Group was an online media company and blog network formerly operated by Univision Communications (now TelevisaUnivision) in its Fusion Media Group division. The company was created from assets acquired from Gawker Media during its ...
(GMG) was subsequently formed to operate the properties. The website's masthead consisted of editor-in-chief Megan Greenwell, managing editor Tom Ley, and senior editor Diana Moskovitz, along with a staff of writers and regular contributors.


Conflicts with G/O Media management

In April 2019, private equity firm Great Hill Partners purchased Gizmodo Media Group, renamed it
G/O Media G/O Media Inc. is an American media holding company that owns and operates the digital media outlets '' Kotaku'' and '' The Root''. It was formed in 2019 after the private equity firm Great Hill Partners purchased two digital portfolios from ...
, and appointed
Jim Spanfeller James J. Spanfeller Jr. is an American executive known for running Forbes.com from 2001 to 2009. He is currently the CEO of G/O Media which consists primarily of sites that were previously part of Gawker Media. Spanfeller was hired by private e ...
as CEO. Four months later, Greenwell resigned from ''Deadspin'' effective August 23, 2019. She said that dysfunction had been caused by corporate management. She also alleged that corporate management tried to intimidate ''Deadspin'' writers from reporting on the dysfunction and said that corporate management had undermined and been condescending to the site's senior staff. In late October 2019, the editorial staff across several G/O Media sites, including ''Deadspin'', posted articles acknowledging complaints from readers about
advertisements Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically us ...
that were autoplaying with audio. The ''Deadspin'' post said that the editorial staff "are as upset with the current state of our site's user experience as eadersare" but that they could not control the "ad experience." The posts were subsequently removed by G/O Media management. The GMG union, which represents editors and writers across the G/O Media sites and is supported by
Writers Guild of America, East The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is a trade union, labor union representing writers in film, television, radio, news, and online media. The WGAE and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), though independent entities, jointly brand the ...
, responded to the post removals with a statement that said, "We condemn this action in the strongest possible terms." According to ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', G/O Media enabled the autoplaying ads in an attempt to fulfill the terms of an advertising deal it agreed to with Farmers Insurance Group. The companies had signed a deal worth $1 million that was planned to run from September 2019 – 2020 and required G/O Media to deliver 43.5 million impressions. However, after the first few weeks of the campaign, the G/O Media and operations teams did not think they could meet that goal and subsequently enabled the ads. Farmers ultimately backed out of the deal on October 30. That same week, G/O Media editorial director Paul Maidment ordered ''Deadspin'' employees in a memo to discontinue any content not related to sports. He said that in order to "create as much great sports journalism" as possible, "''Deadspin'' will write only about sports and that which is relevant to sports in some way." The GMG union called the changes in the site's content "undermin ngthe nearly two decades of work writers have put into building a profitable brand with an enormous, dedicated readership." On October 29, following the memo, staffers filled the site's front page with non-sports stories that had been among the site's most popular in the past; by that afternoon, interim editor-in-chief Barry Petchesky was fired for "not sticking to sports." As a result of Petchesky's firing, at least 10 employees participated in a mass resignation on October 30. Among those who left were Ley, writers Albert Burneko, Kelsey McKinney, Patrick Redford, Lauren Theisen, Chris Thompson, and Laura Wagner. Moskovitz also announced her departure, though she had given her two weeks' notice the week prior. Comments on the site were subsequently disabled. The GMG union posted a statement saying: "Today, a number of our colleagues at Deadspin resigned from their positions. From the outset, CEO Jim Spanfeller has worked to undermine a successful site by curtailing its most well-read coverage because it makes him personally uncomfortable. This is not what journalism looks like, and this is not what editorial independence looks like. 'Stick to sports' is and always been a thinly veiled euphemism for 'don't speak truth to power.' In addition to being bad business, Spanfeller's actions are morally reprehensible." On October 31, Magary and Dan McQuade announced their departures. By November 1, the entire staff of nearly 20 writers and editors had announced their resignations or already departed. U.S. Senator
Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
expressed his support for the editorial staff, tweeting, "I stand with the former @Deadspin workers who decided not to bow to the greed of private equity vultures like @JimSpanfeller. This is the kind of greed that is destroying journalism across the country, and together we are going to take them on." Maidment resigned from G/O Media on November 5, 2019, stating that it was the "right moment" to "pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity." On January 10, 2020, G/O Media announced its decision to move ''Deadspin'' operations from New York City to Chicago, where it would operate as part of ''
The Onion ''The Onion'' is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is currently based in Chicago, but originated as a weekly print publication ...
''. On January 31, 2020, Ley and several other former writers established
Unnamed Temporary Sports Blog
', an interim site sponsored by
Dashlane Dashlane is a subscription-based password manager and digital wallet application available on macOS, Windows, iOS and Android. Dashlane uses a freemium pricing model with a subscription plan option. Overview Dashlane was founded in Paris o ...
that operated exclusively over
Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 NFL season, 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2019 Kansas City Chiefs season, Kansas City ...
weekend. The site reopened for the week of
April 20 Events Pre-1600 * 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII. 1601–1900 * 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves England's Rump Parliament. * 1657 – English Admiral Robert Blake destroy ...
, sponsored by a cannabis oil company. In July 2020, they subsequently announced a new subscription-based sports and culture website, '' Defector''. The first new content posted to the ''Deadspin'' site following the resignations appeared on March 13, 2020, as new editor-in-chief
Jim Rich James Rich (born ) is an American journalist and newspaper editor. Originally known for his sports coverage with the ''New York Post'', Rich has served twice as editor-in-chief of New York's ''New York Daily News, Daily News'', also editing ''The ...
announced that the website was building a new team. New articles began publishing earlier than planned due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On March 11, 2024, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller told staff the site had been sold to the European startup Lineup Publishing. Spanfeller said the new owner would not be retaining any of the current staff, who were laid off as a result of the sale. He said G/O was not actively looking to sell ''Deadspin'', but that Lineup Publishing approached the company with an attractive offer.


Reporting

''Deadspin'' broke the story of NFL quarterback
Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...
's alleged sexual misconduct toward journalist Jenn Sterger. ''Deadspin'' also broke the story of Sarah Phillips, a reporter hired by ESPN who lied about her identity and credentials to staffers in order to gain employment. In 2013, ''Deadspin'' broke the news that the reported September 2012 death of the girlfriend of Notre Dame
All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...
linebacker Manti Te'o, which Te'o had said inspired him during the 2012 season, was apparently a hoax. ''Deadspin'' found no evidence that the girlfriend had ever existed, much less died. A 2022 documentary, '' Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist'', features former staffers Timothy Burke and Jack Dickey speaking about the methods ''Deadspin'' used in exposing the hoax. ''Deadspin'' received attention for "buying" a vote for the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
election in 2013. The site announced in late November 2013 that it had acquired a vote from a BBWAA writer which was "purchased" not through a cash payment to the writer, but instead to a charity of the writer's choice. On January 8, after the Hall of Fame voting was announced, ''Deadspin'' revealed that its voter was ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...
'' sportswriter
Dan Le Batard Dan Le Batard is an American newspaper sportswriter, ex-radio host, podcast host and television reporter based in Miami, Florida. He has also worked at ESPN, and for his hometown paper, the ''Miami Herald'', for which he wrote from 1990 to 2016. ...
. Le Batard was heavily criticized by fellow sportswriters for "selling" his vote. The BBWAA permanently revoked his Hall of Fame voting privileges and suspended his membership for one year. In 2014, ''Deadspin'' provided coverage of the Gamergate controversy, "expos nga shocking view of sexism and harassment in the gaming industry to the wider public", according to ''
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
''. On October 15, 2014, ''Deadspin'' published an article which alleged that
Cory Gardner Cory Scott Gardner (born August 22, 1974) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Colorado from 2015 to 2021. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for Colorado's 4th congressional district from ...
, the Republican who ran for the U.S. Senate in
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, had faked his high school football career. Later that day, Gardner tweeted photographic evidence of himself in his football uniform as a teenager, and the main source of the story said the report mischaracterized his comments. In response, ''Deadspin'' published an article entitled: "How Deadspin Fucked Up The Cory Gardner Story", stating: "we're sorry and embarrassed," it was "shitty" of them to have wronged Gardner, and "the only thing for us to do now is to eat shit." After ''Deadspin'' posted an article asking readers to post proof of
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
playing basketball, Cruz responded by jokingly tweeting a picture of
Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...
star Grayson Allen, which then prompted ''Deadspin'' to reply with "Go eat shit." In July 2017, ''Deadspin'' sparked controversy when in response to Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...
's
brain cancer A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cance ...
diagnosis, ''Deadspin''s Twitter account tweeted that the website did not want to "hear another fucking word about John McCain unless he dies or does something useful for once." In March 2018, ''The Concourse'' posted a video showcasing versions of a controversial "journalistic responsibility" promo being produced by television stations owned by
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...
, which helped bring mainstream attention to them. ''Deadspin''s former last post each evening (before the October staff resignations), called ''DUAN'' ("Deadspin Up All Night"), was infamous for its occasionally viral and usually wildly diverse commentaries. Under the new staff hired in 2020, the site has occasionally drawn controversy for the quality of its reporting and editing. In 2021, critics claimed the site mishandled reporting related to a clash between Rachel Nichols and Maria Taylor at
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
. Later that year, the site was criticized for calling ESPN anchor Sage Steele "the Black Candace Owens." Owens, a conservative commentator, is Black, while Steele is biracial. On January 22, 2022, ''Deadspin'' published a story criticizing then-
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, who is biracial and whose father is Black, as "ticking off all the boxes to be the next trendy, young, white guy who takes a head coaching position n the NFLbefore one of the many deserving Black candidates." After the article's publication, an editor's note was appended to the piece and a tweet promoting the article was deleted, but none of the copy was changed. On February 6, 2022, the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...
announced they had hired McDaniel as head coach.


Chiefs blackface article

On November 27, 2023, ''Deadspin'' published an article written by Carron J. Phillips, centered on a photo of a boy, 9-year-old Holden Armenta, wearing a Native American
war bonnet file:Native American PowWow 9488.jpg, A modern-day Cheyenne Dog Soldiers, dog soldier wearing a feathered headdress during a pow wow at the Indian Summer festival in Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2008 War bonnets (also called ...
at the previous day's game between the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...
and the
Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...
at Allegiant Stadium. Half of Armenta's face was painted black, and the other half was painted red, two of the Chiefs' team colors; Phillips, based on a photo that showed only the side of Armenta's face that was painted black, falsely accused him of wearing
blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
. The article was headlined "The NFL needs to speak out against the Kansas City Chiefs fan in Black face, Native headdress." In the article, Phillips wrote that Armenta had "found a way to hate Black people and the Native Americans at the same time," and accused his parents of teaching him racism. ''Deadspin'' posted the article on its X account, where it received over 18,000 replies and a Community Note explaining that it was false. Despite photographic evidence showing Armenta's entire face, Phillips stood by the article, writing in posts on X, "For the idiots in my mentions who are treating this as some harmless act because the other side of his face was painted red, I could make the argument that it makes it even worse...Y’all are the ones who hate Mexicans but wear sombreros on Cinco." The posts were later deleted. On November 29, ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'' reported that Armenta's mother, Shannon Armenta, had criticized ''Deadspin'' in a post on
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
and revealed that Holden is himself Native American. Holden's father, Raul Armenta Jr., is a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians, and his grandfather, Raul Armenta Sr., is a member of the tribe's Business Committee. On December 4, NewsNation reported that lawyers for Raul Armenta Jr. and Shannon Armenta had written to ''Deadspin'' demanding a retraction of Phillips' article and threatening further legal action against the site, Phillips, G/O Media, and Great Hill Partners. At some point on December 7, the original article was edited to remove photos of Holden; an editor's note was added to the article which read, in part, "Three years ago, the Chiefs banned fans from wearing headdresses in Arrowhead Stadium, as well as face painting that 'appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions.' The story’s intended focus was the NFL and its failure to extend those rules to the entire league. We regret any suggestion that we were attacking the fan or his family." The article's headline was also changed to "The NFL Must Ban Native Headdress And Culturally Insensitive Face Paint in the Stands (UPDATED)." On February 6, 2024, Raul Armenta Jr. and Shannon Armenta filed a
lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...
for
defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
against G/O Media in
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
, where the company is incorporated. In the lawsuit, the Armentas described Phillips as "someone who makes his livelihood through vicious race-baiting," and said that the family had received "a barrage of hate," including threats against Holden's life, since the article's publication. On March 11, G/O Media CEO
Jim Spanfeller James J. Spanfeller Jr. is an American executive known for running Forbes.com from 2001 to 2009. He is currently the CEO of G/O Media which consists primarily of sites that were previously part of Gawker Media. Spanfeller was hired by private e ...
announced that ''Deadspin'' had been sold to
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
-based media company Lineup Publishing, and that the site's entire staff had been laid off with immediate effect; '' Adweek'', citing anonymous sources, reported that the controversy around Phillips' article and the lawsuit "may have helped hasten" the sale of ''Deadspin''. On October 7,
Delaware Superior Court The Delaware Superior Court, previously known as the Superior Court and Orphans' Court, is the State court (United States), state trial court of general jurisdiction in the state of Delaware. It has original jurisdiction over most criminal law, c ...
Judge Sean Lugg denied a motion by ''Deadspin'' to dismiss the Armentas' lawsuit, ruling that the accusations in Phillips' article were "provable false assertions of fact and are therefore actionable."


See also

*''
Defector Media ''Defector Media'' is a subscription-based sports and culture blog and media company founded in September 2020 and based in Manhattan. The Defector blog is primarily written by former employees of the ''Deadspin'' sports blog. In October and No ...
''


References


External links


deadspin.com
{{GawkerMedia Gawker Media American sport websites Internet properties established in 2005 2005 establishments in the United States Former Univision Communications subsidiaries