Not sure where to post this, but Authentic Brands Group has revoked Sports Illustrated's license to publish due to a missed payment. As a result of the move, the entire staff of the 70-year-old print and online publication was notified on Friday that their jobs were being eliminated.

SI‘s fabled roster of contributors, from sportswriting immortals like Frank Deford and Dan Jenkins to the literary likes of William Faulkner, kept the magazine on the top shelf of media in the latter part of the 20th Century. Its photography was the stuff of museum exhibits, dramatically expanding the sports fan's previous media diet of box scores and wire-service-style game stories.

I really hate to hear this growing up Sports Illustrated was my go to a young boy to keep up with all of professional sports before ESPN and the internet.

Sad to hear this. An icon falls.

Sad day but I am not surprised in the least.

 

No more cover jinxes?  No more swimsuit issues?

SI was journalism draped with the trappings of sport. Award winning writing from Deford, among many others, and the "Illustrated" was often jaw dropping, whether on the field or on the beach. Among photographers, Neil Leifer's camera work around the globe, in sports of all sorts, was incredible.

Each issue was eagerly anticipated at our house and was a great forum to learn about the great, near great, and the often overlooked - remember "Faces in the Crowd"? 

The magazine introduced me to the hero of my high school years ... and where else would you discover a kid from Coos Bay, Oregon making a splash on the world scene. 

It's a sad truth that folks don't want to pay for print content, and that's been apparent for quite a while. The same is happening now on the digital landscape. Fewer eyes and voices of quality in long form writing make the world a smaller, less informed place. I'm saddened by this news today. 

Credit to the original story, noted in the OP. ~

? deadline.com/2024/01/sports-illustrated-staff-layoff

? From the archives ~ 

si.com/olympics/2012/06/29/classic-photos-of-prefontaine 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/19/media/sports-illustrated-layoffs/index.html

Layed off most, if not all of their staff and are trying to defend themselves after being busted for using AI to write their articles.