Co-owner/Projects Editor/podcasts @DefectorMedia. Preorder The Cruelty of Nice Folks, out in June 2026
Minneapolis/New York
Joined March 2008
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So I wrote about my hometown for @TheAtlantic, what it was like growing up in Minneapolis and how everything that happened, from George Floyd's death to the aftermath, felt like the inevitable conclusion to a story long in the making. theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv…
Justin Ellis retweeted
Happy to hear about Brother Tate receiving a Pulitzer three years after his death. Though it would been cooler if he could've accepted it himself I'm sure his spirit is smiling
--Afrodisiac: A Textual Meditation on Greg Tate lithub.com/afrodisiac-a-text… via @lithub @PulitzerPrizes
Coming out of journalism conference retirement just for you, Canada
After a mass walk-out at their old gig, the co-owners of Defector Media built a successful, subscriber-driven co-operative. In a must-see #CAJ24 keynote, @JustinNXT will share how they did it and what they've learned along the way. Get your tickets: caj.ca/caj24/
This was wonderful. Truly the holiday that says “that’s some nice plans you got, be a real shame if the moon changed on you.” Eid Mubarak!
Eid Mubarak! For @nytimes, I wrote about the liberatory chaos of Eid: nytimes.com/2023/06/28/opini…
Touring across this great nation, healing our fractured psyche with petty, weird and hilarious stories you only share with your closest friends. Will @mckinneykelsey use a T-shirt cannon? Will @alexlaughs get too pumped on Liquid Death? GET YOUR TICKETS normalgossiplive.com/
Come for the roommate mystery, stay for @CiaoSamin breaking down the subcultures and dynamics in every farmers market PERFECTLY.
Normal Gossip is BACK for season 4!
Today’s episode features a story of a love triangle at a local farmers market, with acclaimed chef @CiaoSamin joining as special guest (“Salt Fat Acid Heat”; “Home Cooking”).
Listen to @NormalGossip now: bit.ly/3nHN6eB
Wild how organizations claim they want work from marginalized voices and they cut it when budgets go south, or just don’t spend the money they say they’ll spend bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Justin Ellis retweeted
The hardest part is that our szn is about misogynoir queer, trans, Black women face in hip-hop. Yet w/in NPR, the majority impacted in these layoffs were queer, poc staff & programs. NPR has claimed qtpoc ppl are the same ppl they are trying to reach with their "North Star". 3/4
I wrote about grief, and that place where love and trauma make remembering the past feel impossible. defector.com/what-happens-wh…
When we brought Alex onboard we knew she was an incredible producer, but her love for graphic design truly makes her a double threat
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Justin Ellis retweeted
The rumors are true: Normal Gossip has joined Radiotopia, the network for independent creators!
Co-created by @mckinneykelsey and @alexlaughs for @DefectorMedia, the acclaimed podcast delivering juicy, funny, and utterly banal gossip returns April 5!
bit.ly/3xXjKe6
Justin Ellis retweeted
Introducing the Twin Cities Media Group – a collaborative effort from a few independent local media organizations working together to build thriving, resilient local media in the Twin Cities. southwestvoices.news/posts/i…
Justin Ellis retweeted
180 (and counting) past and present New York Times contributors have signed an open letter to the paper’s standards editor condemning the ongoing unethical anti-trans bias in its coverage of trans, non-binary and gender nonconforming people. Read it here nytletter.com
Justin Ellis retweeted
It's been a rough few weeks in terms of media layoffs so I want to flag a job I'm helping hire for: @prisonjourn, which trains incarcerated people as journalists and helps them get published, is hiring a managing editor to run all of its editorial strategy prisonjournalismproject.org/…
Justin Ellis retweeted
There ain't enough black video essayists, bloggers, or pundits in the game to unpack how a D tier rapper singer from Canada not named Drake got most of hip hop culture to side with him against a megastar who we at a minimum know was definitely shot in the foot.
Defector had another good year, which is fucking fantastic news. But it's the way our business works and is different from other media companies that continues to be the thing makes me excited
Defector recognized $3.8 mm in revenue this year, 95 percent of which came from subscriptions. We reached a high water mark of 41k net active subscribers in early September 2022. defector.com/defector-annual…
The other lesson is how to run a normle media business: We treat each other like humans, we don't give a shit about the trappings of the Journalism Expansion Era, we celebrate all the small victories because everyone here knows what it means to be a media company refugee