Muscle Sport Magazine

ESPN the Magazine Print No More

ESPN the Magazine

They are slowly – but surely – dwindling away. Print magazines have become scarce and even in an industry as popular as sports, ‘slicks’ are going by the wayside. It began seven years ago when the then-“The Sporting News” went digital only after being a newspaper or magazine since 1886. Then today, “ESPN the Magazine” has announced that it is ceasing its print publication in September after a mostly-successful 21-year run.

The last ‘giant’ left standing will be “Sports Illustrated,” which has been a weekly since 1954 and considered the ‘bible’ for sports fans. Even though it has gone down in page count and quality (rice paper-thin), SI is still a top-notch operation. But even they are not exempt from the political correctness that has become all too commonplace today… for some folks, that is.

A Somali-born model wearing a burkini being featured in SI’s prized annual swimsuit edition has become the conversation on mainstream media because she is basically covered from head-to-toe wearing a bathing suit popular in the Muslim world. A plus-sized model was one thing (Ashley Graham is fuckin’ hot), but people buy that issue to see SKIN!

We’re getting sidetracked; let’s get back to ESPN.

‘The Worldwide Leader in Sports’ is going with their go-to “Body Issue” for its print swan song and will continue it online.

“Our data shows the vast majority of readers already consume our print journalism on digital platforms, and this approach will maximize our reach and impact,” ESPN said in its statement. “In the future, we will explore releasing tentpole collections such as Body in special, differentiated print formats.”

The statement further informed that there will only be a “handful” of layoffs but not many details on how the digital version will be available. But one can surmise that it will be separate from the website content and have the look/layout of a magazine or else there would be many more pink slips handed out.

“The only change here is that we are moving away from printing it on paper and sending it in the mail.”

Hopefully that happens and ESPN continues that magazine format, digital notwithstanding. “Sporting News” changed more than the name when they ceased printing, becoming a regular website with a scrolling tree of content.

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A magazine format is a much more pleasurable experience for the reader and is by far more user-friendly. Pop-ups, banner ads, etc. can make reading even a short online article a chore that’s not worth the time. A digital magazine can still include advertising for revenue purposes, just not in the form of an ‘in-your-face’ intrusive style.

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