Sports Illustrated layoffs

There's still one or two very good stories in there every month and I am convinced it could still work as a print product, but like so many other corners of journalism, it's had terrible ownership. Several owners ago it was Emmis Communications, and its regional/city magazine holdings included Texas Monthly, Atlanta, Orange County, L.A. and Indianapolis Monthly. (My wife worked for Indy Monthly back when the industry was still humming; I miss researching the "best steakhouse" issue.) But Emmis sold them off piecemeal, keeping only Indy, and they have all had various levels of suffering.

 

Terrible ownership tends to be a catch-all on here for why publications have failed or are failing. But Emmis bought Texas Monthly in the late 90s when the magazine had a lot of subscribers, regionals were doing relatively well, there were ad dollars that nobody will pay anymore (and hadn't left for cheaper online visibility). ... and reputationally it was at the top of its game. When Emmis sold it a few years ago, it sold it for substantially less than what it had paid for it almost 20 years earlier. Subscriptions had dropped. That isn't a business that is in good shape.

This really is a function of consumer demand for something changing dramatically, not bad ownership destroying something that was still viable. The reason private equity was buying when Emmis was ready to unload is that is what a certain area of private equity does. It tries to salvage things that are already failing and that few others are interested in as an investment anymore. If they can keep it alive and get it to throw off cash, they'll collect a dividend for as long as they can. Or if they can cut costs and make it look profitable, they'll stick around for as short a time as possible -- just long enough to sell it (which was what happened with Texas Monthly). The private equity buyers often come with staff layoffs and a lot of turnover, unfortunately, and worse, it often means changes to the product that people who appreciated what it had been, hate (usually rightfully so, because they are changes to make production cost less).

Texas Monthly may still be good the way you said. I am ashamed to say I haven't looked at it in a while -- I once subscribed and no longer do; I saw a change in it several years ago. But just in the period after Emmis sold, it lost a good EIC, had a lot of turnover, and there was an allegation that it sold its cover to a dating website, which wasn't a good look for something that had been known for its good journalism in its heyday.

 

I'd guess a reason why Brad Pitt (or just as likely a movie studio) is eager to time things with VF, or give exclusives when it serves their needs, is that they rely on the promotion to make their money. Perhaps a publication like VF still plays a role in selling movie tickets (although I'd also guess that role has lessened and continues to, with digital becoming more important).

Sports agents and team PR people will probably never have the same kind of motivation. Sporting event viewership or ticket sales are not going to be driven by a monthly print magazine in any appreciable way; not in this day and age.

 

I love their business model: absolutely zero free reads online, a pretty stout subscription price with no discounts, limited advertising from sponsors that are blue-chip companies in the golf space. And the product is pure golf storytelling and photography, like you said -- no tips on how to get out of bunkers, equipment ratings or Tiger updates.

Had a story published there and made the obligatory social media posts for friends, it was weird to post without a link. Yet I tip my cap wholeheartedly.