Sports Illustrated Layoffs Prompt Social Media Tributes And Laments For “A Horrible Day”
Sports Illustrated’s Entire Staff Told Their Jobs Have Been Eliminated After Authenic Brands Revokes License To Publish; Union Vows To “Fight For Every One Of Our Colleagues”
Sports Illustrated‘s stunning mass layoffs Friday, which cast doubt on the future of the 70-year-old media stalwart, have prompted waves of emotional reaction across social media.
The Arena Group told the entire staff their jobs were being eliminated after Authentic Brands Group, which licenses the SI name, suspended that license to publish due to a missed payment of about $3.75 million.
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It isn’t yet clear what the ultimate fate of SI will be, but it has been thrown into uncertainty. Sports Illustrated Union and The NewsGuild of New York issued a statement vowing to fight for the workers. “We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company. It is a fight we will continue,” Mitch Goldich, NFL editor and unit chair at The NewsGuild of New York said.
Reaction was swift and emotional on X, formerly Twitter, where “Sports Illustrated” became the No. 1 trending topic nationally by midday Friday. Reactions ranged from bafflement at management decisions in recent years to outright eulogies for the magazine, some tagged “RIP.”
ESPN host Scott Van Pelt posted a vintage cover and a tribute. “If you are older, you knew exactly what day Sports Illustrated showed up in the mailbox,” he wrote. “Found this just last week and it took me back to a time when the team was great, they were called something different and if your team made the cover, it was the greatest thing ever. RIP SI.”
Adam Schefter, ESPN’s veteran NFL reporter, struck a similar tone. “At its peak and even for a while after, Sports Illustrated was an institution,” he wrote. “Its covers, and coverage, were legendary. So much great work was done there. And now, it’s the end. A horrible day for the employees that work there.”
Ricky Cobb, whose X account Super 70s Sports recently was announced as the basis of a TV show produced by Vice and Jimmy Kimmel’s Kimmelot, offered a “Sky Point to Sports Illustrated.” His X post continued: “I couldn’t imagine being a sports fan in my childhood without it. Damn near every 70s cover is suitable for framing because ‘less is more’ was still a thing people understood back then.”
Here is a sampling of the reactions/remembrances on X, formerly Twitter (speaking of eulogized media brands …):
Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 52665 Location: Making a safety stop at 15 feet.
Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2024 2:42 pm Post subject:
I was under the impression that the had gone completely AI months ago. _________________ You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames
Got killed by online content. I haven't read an SI article in years.
It's because good writing isn't appreciated. They've had some phenomenal writers. In contrast online journalism has the caliber of writing on par with message board posting. It's even worse now with AI. Look at the titles of articles that are being generated across all "journalism". You can spot it from a mile if you're looking. They're almost all a horrific, disjointed mess and the problem is further exacerbated by no longer having any editors. A well read child would do better. _________________ KOBE
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35945 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2024 6:04 pm Post subject:
How is print media supposed to make money these days? Seems like these outlets continue to exist as the vanity projects of billionaires. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
How is print media supposed to make money these days? Seems like these outlets continue to exist as the vanity projects of billionaires.
It doesn't. Thats why billionaires end up owning it. They can afford to lose money on it in exchange for ownership in something that is influential in changing people's opinions.
So much history with Sports Illustrated. I really liked the Vault. Those articles were a reflection of the times. Great writers. Ralph Wiley. However, the internet killed them. The moment they were done was when the New York Times bought the Atlantic. That was the moment.
Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 18236 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2024 9:00 am Post subject:
JUST-MING wrote:
So much history with Sports Illustrated. I really liked the Vault. Those articles were a reflection of the times. Great writers. Ralph Wiley. However, the internet killed them. The moment they were done was when the New York Times bought the Atlantic. That was the moment.
Those iconic cover photos. _________________ "Suck it up. Don't be a baby. Do your job." - Kobe Bryant
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 67789 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2024 9:44 am Post subject:
lakersken80 wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
How is print media supposed to make money these days? Seems like these outlets continue to exist as the vanity projects of billionaires.
It doesn't. Thats why billionaires end up owning it. They can afford to lose money on it in exchange for ownership in something that is influential in changing people's opinions.
Tax write-offs. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 67789 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 11:45 am Post subject:
^^^TV, Social Media, and the Internet are becoming the instruments most viewed for news. Newspapers and magazines are suffering because of them. Newsprint is becoming obsolete. _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
^^^TV, Social Media, and the Internet are becoming the instruments most viewed for news. Newspapers and magazines are suffering because of them. Newsprint is becoming obsolete.
Unfortunately the dumbing down of the population has long term repercussions politically and socially.
Joined: 17 Nov 2007 Posts: 67789 Location: In a world where admitting to not knowing something is considered a great way to learn.
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 12:40 pm Post subject:
lakersken80 wrote:
jodeke wrote:
^^^TV, Social Media, and the Internet are becoming the instruments most viewed for news. Newspapers and magazines are suffering because of them. Newsprint is becoming obsolete.
Unfortunately the dumbing down of the population has long term repercussions politically and socially.
Michael Moore _________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
So much history with Sports Illustrated. I really liked the Vault. Those articles were a reflection of the times. Great writers. Ralph Wiley. However, the internet killed them. The moment they were done was when the New York Times bought the Atlantic. That was the moment.
I didn't have Sports Illustrated but it was always a treat to read their stuff growing up. I have a recollection reading a SI article after Kobe's 62 in 3. IIRC they were critical, saying Kobe ruined his chance at 80
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