Longtime sports journalist Howard Beck has found a new home, joining Bill Simmons at The Ringer ahead of the 2023-24 National Basketball Association season. The former Sports Illustrated writer and podcast host confirmed the news, first reported by actor Kelly AuCoin on X, formerly known as Twitter, and shared that he was elated to be joining the outlet. He shared that he has been a fan since the outlet’s inception in 2016, and now will have its platform to report on basketball news, rumors and other pertinent sports topics.
Beck was hosting a podcast with Locked On Network and serving as its NBA playoffs and offseason insider in addition to writing stories for GQ Sports over the last several months. In February of this year, he was laid off by Sports Illustrated as one of 17 staffers to lose their jobs. Three years earlier, Beck was let go by Bleacher Report after the digital media outlet ceased publication of its B/R Magazine. While with Bleacher Report, he hosted The Full 48 podcast and welcomed several guests onto the program for interviews, including the aforementioned Aucoin.
The University of California, Davis graduate is widely viewed as a reputable, credible source of news and information. Beck will now be utilizing that experience in his new role as a senior NBA writer, joining a platform with written and audiovisual work disseminated through digital platforms. Founder Bill Simmons headlines “The Ringer Podcast Network,” which features a wide array of content offerings that appeal to wide varieties of sports fans, and could choose to include Beck in its vast portfolio.
Beck’s announcement also elicited several congratulatory messages on X from former colleagues and NBA fans, coinciding on the same day as the final publication of The New York Times sports section. There will likely be more news to come regarding the type of role he has agreed to with the digital media outlet ahead of basketball’s tipoff next month.
