News of The Athletic laying off a small percentage of its workforce made the rounds in sports media on Monday, and 670 The Score host Dan Bernstein was among the latest in sports radio to sound off on the decision to downsize.
Bernstein expressed his disappointment that White Sox reporter James Fegan was among those let go.
Dan added that The Athletic has been following the arc of a tech company, especially since the outlet was sold to The New York Times last year. He felt like it was a case of the outlet suddenly being handed over to the kind of company and publication the site was trying to avoid becoming when it launched.
“And then they realize, ‘Oh, now we are gonna have ads, and we are gonna chase clicks, and we are gonna cut costs, and we are gonna slash the travel budget,’ he said Tuesday on Bernstein & Holmes. “And you become exactly what you were claiming originally to disrupt. You are now part of the Borg.”
Co-host Laurence Holmes felt the characterization of the situation was a bit extreme, saying he enjoyed the journalism the staff at The Athletic produced and continues to churn out even now.
But Bernstein questioned what ultimately drove the publication to decide that they needed to part ways with White Sox coverage.
“What was it in their data?” he asked. “What did The Athletic know when they could say, ‘This is a beat would could lose for our business?'”
