Sports Illustrated Just Went Out Of Business

RobBase said:


Is this a get woke go broke thing or something else?
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williewilliejuan said:
I think it’s just their time ran out. They didn’t evolve
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Well, they did put this dude on the cover. Isn’t that evolving? :heh:

si2023_kim_petras_05_1437_d_wmweb.webp
 
didn't they just get busted for having articles written by AI?

they just kept digging holes for themselves
 
I thought they were out of business years ago.

Even 30 years ago the only thing that was keeping them relevant was the swimsuit issue. Now you
don't need it wank to anymore with all the free pron.
 
moxie said:
Well, they did put this dude on the cover. Isn’t that evolving? :heh:

si2023_kim_petras_05_1437_d_wmweb.webp
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Uhg. I was just thinking they maybe put some fat chicks on the cover — but of course they did this, too.
 
ill said:
didn't they just get busted for having articles written by AI?

they just kept digging holes for themselves
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That’s an interesting discussion. If it was someone pretending to write it themselves then that’s not good. But in general, you’ve got to expect this kind of thing moving forward.
 
I have a box of them stashed in the garage. Kept the ones that were cool and interesting, tossed the rest. It was a fun magazine for awhile.
 
They stayed around because they had 1 issue that people wanted...but nowadays people have no reason to pay 6 bucks to see women in a bikini.
 
ill said:
didn't they just get busted for having articles written by AI?

they just kept digging holes for themselves
Click to expand...
You are correct, sir.

www.pbs.org

Sports Illustrated found publishing AI generated stories, photos and authors

The magazine denied claims that some articles themselves were AI-assisted, but has cut ties with a vendor it hired to produce the articles.
www.pbs.org www.pbs.org

It wasn't like SI had any hard-hitting journalists left, so I guess it shouldn't be so surprising that the Gen-Z morons the editors relied upon to produce stories turned to ChatGPT. The above link claims SI even used fake authors with fake pictures too. Seems like a million years ago that hungry sports beat writers would work nearly for free, just to establish a career.

I haven't picked up an issue of this rag outside of a waiting room in probably 20 years. Even the swimsuit issue weirdness is something I relied on 3rd parties to tell me about.
 
ill said:
didn't they just get busted for having articles written by AI?

they just kept digging holes for themselves
Click to expand...

Holy shit. Really?


Edit - @Mofo put the link
 
Guess I'll post in the thread with the most responses.

SI used to be a good mag, and they used to give away some nice swag with new subscriptions, like the football shaped telephone.

I once received some NY Rangers tickets that a friend had gotten from another friend, and nobody could use them. They turned out to be in the SI box at center ice. Best time I ever had at a game of any kind, so...RIP
 
RobBase said:


Is this a get woke go broke thing or something else?
Click to expand...


Something else that's quite common these days.

It's what happens when VC firms buy up a property, strip it down and think they know what they're doing but have no fucking clue how to run the actual business.

SI's model was pretty basic. Just have the best writers and photographers cover the top sports and people will pay to read it. It worked for decades. But different groups started buying it up and screwed it up. They pinched pennies everywhere, let all their talent go, and were shocked no one gave a damn about them anymore.

The one legit criticism I would have of SI over the years is they were slow to enter the "modern" world. They took too long to transition from the physical magazine world into the internet era. By the time they did, they had already been surpassed by other outlets. Some of that is on them but also some of that were the owners just having no clue what they were doing and being directionless.
 
wildturkey said:
Something else that's quite common these days.

It's what happens when VC firms buy up a property, strip it down and think they know what they're doing but have no fucking clue how to run the actual business.

SI's model was pretty basic. Just have the best writers and photographers cover the top sports and people will pay to read it. It worked for decades. But different groups started buying it up and screwed it up. They pinched pennies everywhere, let all their talent go, and were shocked no one gave a damn about them anymore.

The one legit criticism I would have of SI over the years is they were slow to enter the "modern" world. They took too long to transition from the physical magazine world into the internet era. By the time they did, they had already been surpassed by other outlets. Some of that is on them but also some of that were the owners just having no clue what they were doing and being directionless.
Click to expand...
Plus, people's attention span isn't long enough to read a multi-page article. Give me the news in 3 paragraphs and I'm good.
 
RobBase said:


Is this a get woke go broke thing or something else?
Click to expand...

I don't think that was the main issue. There are several factors at play that hit SI just like other print publications. IMO, people just don't read anymore so a print product isn't going to sell. Second, much like ESPN, SI didn't have very much competition for its particular market and now its saturated.

It makes me a bit sad because I had a subscription since the late 80's but the quality is extremely poor now and there are simply too many alternatives for sports news
 
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