On Friday morning, The Arena Group informed Sports Illustrated staff members that a significant number of them would be laid off from their roles at the heralded magazine publication. Authentic Brands Group, which is the owner of the magazine, terminated its licensing agreement with The Arena Group that publishes Sports Illustrated. Many people perceive the future of the publication itself to be in doubt, although no final resolution seems to have been reached.
“This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group (previously The Maven) stewardship,” the Sports Illustrated Union and The NewsGuild of New York said in a statement. “We are calling on ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years. We expect The Arena Group to honor all the terms of our union contract and will fight for every one of our colleagues to be treated fairly.”
Several writers were given notices of termination, prompting readers, former writers and other industry professionals to react to the news on social media. Some writers, including Emma Baccellieri and Stephanie Apstein, were informed that they had 90 days remaining in their current jobs. Moreover, Ross Levinsohn, the former chief executive officer of The Arena Group, resigned from his board position at the company on Friday.
“The actions of this Board and the destruction of Sports Illustrated’s storied brand and newsroom are the last straw,” Levinsohn said in a post on LinkedIn. “An incredible team spent years rebuilding great brands like SI through very challenging times. To watch in horror what is transpiring now is one of the most disappointing things I’ve ever witnessed in my professional life.”
Los Angeles Times Employees Go on One-Day Strike
The Sports Illustrated news occurred simultaneously with the first strike in the 142-year history of the Los Angeles Times, a one-day stand from existing staffers to respond to forthcoming layoffs to the staff. The Los Angeles Times Guild revealed plans for this action to occur when the newspaper reported that it could lose up to 20% of the 500-person newsroom. Two weeks ago, executive editor Kevin Merida resigned from the outlet after a mutual agreement with owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.
“The hardest decisions to make are those that impact our employees, and we do not come to any such decisions lightly,” a representative for the paper told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. “We are continuing to review the revenue projections for this year and taking a very careful look at expenses and what our organization can support.”
The sports section of the print edition of the Los Angeles Times took on a new format over the summer, forgoing traditional box scores, standings and other game stories. Instead, the masthead implemented more comprehensive reporting, including profiles, investigations and other analyses.
In a story published after the fact, many dedicated readers of the outlet expressed their aversion to the transformation and canceled their subscriptions. Following these complaints, sports editor Iliana Limón Romero outlined ways print readers can access the television listings and local sports calendar using digital devices.
“Recent staff reductions and an upcoming change to our printing press forced us to adopt early deadlines and we no longer can deliver box scores, standings or game results in the print edition,” Limón Romero said in the article. “We also cannot provide box scores due to lack of staff resources.”
VanHaaren Says ESPN Contract Will Not Be Renewed
ESPN college football reporter Tom VanHaaren also announced Friday that the company has not renewed his contract in June. VanHaaren has worked at ESPN for the last 11 years and shared that he is going to take some time to reflect on the experiences he has had. Reflecting on the outcome, he does not have any regrets and knows the effort he put into the role.
“I always tell people that I wanted to do three things when I was a kid,” VanHaaren said in a post on X. “I wanted to be a golf pro, I wanted to be on Saturday Night Live and I wanted to work at ESPN. I got one out of the three, so I’m thankful for that.”
Van Haaren’s upcoming layoff comes several months after the network parted with several members of its on-air talent team, including Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Suzy Kolber and Jalen Rose. The Walt Disney Company as a whole eliminated 7,000 jobs in a round of layoffs last year to slash $5.5 billion in operating costs.
