Changes at SI

[DanOregon]

It's been interesting noting the changes in SI since Paul Fichtenbaum took over from Terry McDonnell.

Other than a few notable errors (Baylor unis/graphics issues/stating that Sanchez and Romo hadn't won playoff games), the biggest thing I've noticed is an inclination to not featuring the "news of the week" on the cover and go with something else (Goodell this week, Michael at 50, Spring Football). Hockey seems to have been banished and even nuts and bolts coverage of college hoops seems to have taken a back seat. The NASCAR preview was three pages in Scorecard when in previous years it had a feature, maybe two and a 4-5 page breakdown of Chase contenders.

Don't know if the coverage changes are due more to economic factors or just a general change of editorial philosophy.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

It's been February, by far the slowest month on the sports calendar, so I wouldn't call that a trend until it continues into events season -- like the NCAA tournament coming up.







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[Small Town Guy]

I'm sure a big part of it is just that every new editor in the magazine's history puts his own spin on it (see: MacCamridge's awesome book on SI).

But the economic side...

Time is now looking to get rid of SI, Time, Fortune and Money.

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/fate-of-four-time-inc-magazines-are-an-issue-in-talks-with-meredith/?partner=rss&emc=rss

 

[LongTimeListener]

The one thing that got me was the big WTF about a cover and an entire issue of ... spring football?

 

[podunk press]

No coverage of the Daytona 500 at all.

 

[Roscablo]

The one thing that got me was the big WTF about a cover and an entire issue of ... spring football?

That was weird. And the false NCAA tourney cover, the one they've done for years, made it confusing. I guess they are trying to get creative and appeal to new people or something.

I still think the content is good, but it is disappearing at a significant rate. I almost would have bought it for the scorecard stuff alone and the notes on the different in-season sports 10 years ago. Now that's down to nothing. Sometimes you get three solid features, sometimes one. The full Jordan issue is too much. I know what Jordan did, if I don't want to read it that's automatically a throw away issue.

I still think the content is good enough for $30 or $40 a year plus the digital issue on the tablet, but it's getting close to me not caring about what's in it.

 

[SixToe]

No coverage of the Daytona 500 at all.

None? I don't get SI anymore but have in the past and always enjoyed their racing coverage. To not cover the Daytona 500 is surprising.

 

[mediaguy]

Kind of nice to get this thread and see it's not about someone losing their job.

 

[Boom_70]

I 've noticed that the last 3 issues have been razor thin with only 10 -12 full page ads.

Issue with Braxton Miller on cover might have been the worst ever as far as content.

The ship be sinking.

 

[SixToe]

Time Warner spinning off its Time Inc. magazine group:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/06/time-warner-spinoff/1969205/

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

I 've noticed that the last 3 issues have been razor thin with only 10 -12 full page ads.

That's also a product of February. It's a dead time of the year for advertising. That's why SI invented the swimsuit issue long ago.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Time Warner spinning off its Time Inc. magazine group:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/03/06/time-warner-spinoff/1969205/

Which means cuts and cutbacks are a-comin' at SI.

 

[LongTimeListener]

Peter King is going to have a Holiday Inn Express Preferred Traveler Note Of The Week.

 

[DanOregon]

SI was never going to be part of the Meredith deal. I figure the spin-off is mainly aimed at boosting the TimeWarner stock price.

Just saw the 75th Anniversary of the NCAA issue. I don't mind commemorative issues, but they should be "extras." This is two issues in the past month devoted to things that happened in decades past instead what is happening in sports "now."

 

[BTExpress]

I almost would have bought it for the scorecard stuff alone and the notes on the different in-season sports 10 years ago. Now that's down to nothing.

Nothing? In the "Jordan issue" --- which also had a nice piece on the Sochi Olympics --- Scorecard didn't end until Page 36. Was about the longest Scorecard I've ever seen.

 

[Here me roar]

A lot more Rushin now

 

[Orange Hat Bobcat]

In regard to the discussion about the spate of recent errors, Verducci wrote in the cover story last week that Bryce Harper turned in a 5.0 WAR, the highest single-season WAR ever by a teenager. Well, yeah, of course he did ... among position players, though that statement was never made in the story. Just mentioned Mel Ott. Not sure how Verducci forgot about Dwight Gooden, a player he covered for years at Newsday, who topped Harper by any measure (5.2 on Baseball Reference, 8.6 on Fangraphs) during his 1984 rookie season, when he was 19.

How did nobody catch that during the reporting, writing or editing process?

 

[the fop]

In regard to the discussion about the spate of recent errors, Verducci wrote in the cover story last week that Bryce Harper turned in a 5.0 WAR, the highest single-season WAR ever by a teenager. Well, yeah, of course he did ... among position players, though that statement was never made in the story. Just mentioned Mel Ott. Not sure how Verducci forgot about Dwight Gooden, a player he covered for years at Newsday, who topped Harper by any measure (5.2 on Baseball Reference, 8.6 on Fangraphs) during his 1984 rookie season, when he was 19.

How did nobody catch that during the reporting, writing or editing process?

In fairness, that's hardly among baseball's milestone numbers, like 73 hr or 4,256 hits. No red flags are going to go off about doc gooden's teenage WAR.

 

[ringer]

Seems like the issues are suddenly getting pretty thematic. It almost looks like SI might be trying to follow ESPN's direction.

SI also seems to have a lot less news in it lately.

The prime example of a newsless story was in the Power Issue, where Jeff Pearlman went all the way to the Arnold Festival and all he wrote about was the Expo. It might have made a nice blog entry, but not a multi-page feature story in one of the hardest magazines in which to get published.

 

[DanOregon]

I almost would have bought it for the scorecard stuff alone and the notes on the different in-season sports 10 years ago. Now that's down to nothing.

Nothing? In the "Jordan issue" --- which also had a nice piece on the Sochi Olympics --- Scorecard didn't end until Page 36. Was about the longest Scorecard I've ever seen.

It is true they seem to have taken at least one "story" and turned it into a Scorecard item, like the "Case For" feature..
I get it. Figure by the time the magazine comes out, a sports event (game, match etc.) has been over for at least two days, but you would like the mag to at least seem to be a little current with their stories and not turn into Sport Magazine (which I enjoyed, but it wasn't SI).