Friday, November 02, 2007

The slow, steady slide of SI

Josh Levin's latest piece in Slate, What's Wrong with Sports Illustrated, describes the magazine as "passive and uncritical," seeking too much to mimic its cliche-crammed competitors such as ESPN the Magazine. Levin points to the NYT's Play magazine as a smart alternative, although Play doesn't have the influence or the potential of SI.
SI needs to focus on what can really set it apart (and above)most of the mindless, fawning fluff that fills sports-related pages and Web sites: smart, thorough, hard-hitting opinion pieces, and investigative journalism. But both of these mean investing in writers and reporters who can do the work -- not TV brand Dan Patrick.

No comments: