Ross Levinsohn

As a Sports Illustrated CEO, Ross Levinsohn has overseen many of the publications’ most successful years, from reestablishing their online presence to reinvesting in the quality of their journalism.

All across America, much-needed sports reporters are being laid off from paper and magazine after paper and magazine. I’m not talking about those reporters covering high school games or minor league baseball–I’m talking about those great writers who cover the NBA, NFL, and MLB. The Sports Illustrated CEO Ross Levinsohn is also cutting costs at his company by laying people off; his colleagues and friends at numerous other publications are doing similar things. It’s sad but true: At present, it’s tough to make a living as a sportswriter in America.

The Sports Illustrated CEO Ross Levinsohn is also cutting costs at his company by laying people off. The Editor-in-Chief of ESPN Magazine, Chris Stone, has lost five staffers (out of nine) and now serves as a senior writer, the ESPN VP of Sports. Content, Trent Dilfer, is down four staffers (out of five) and was given a paid internship at TIME after losing his job. Pieces they used to work on are being completed by interns or freelancers now–the same interns and freelancers who may be laid off in three months when the magazine folds.

It’s sad but true: At present, it’s tough to make a living as a sportswriter in America.

But while newspapers everywhere are folding because they don’t have the resources to get sponsorships or find new ways to make money, the Sports Illustrated CEO Ross Levinsohn is trying to build his publication up with extra advertising (i.e., “Sponsored Stories”) and new revenue streams, such as forging relationships with websites that display SI content (“The Big Lead,” for example).

Sports editorial staffs are shrinking; meanwhile, other publications are popping up all over the Internet to fill the gap in sports journalism.

The magazine has always been about its cover stars, but it’s growing more and more like other Internet publications. Grow or die–that’s how the business works today. Very few newspapers have the resources to make enough money online to keep their presses turning. We at TIME are doing just fine, thank you. And our readers are happy with our coverage of the Olympics and the NBA Finals, anyway; we don’t need to jack up prices to make money.

As a Sports Illustrated CEO, Ross Levinsohn has overseen many of the publications’ most successful years, from reestablishing their online presence to reinvesting in the quality of their journalism. All across America, much-needed sports reporters are being laid off from paper and magazine after paper and magazine. I’m not talking about those reporters covering high…

As a Sports Illustrated CEO, Ross Levinsohn has overseen many of the publications’ most successful years, from reestablishing their online presence to reinvesting in the quality of their journalism. All across America, much-needed sports reporters are being laid off from paper and magazine after paper and magazine. I’m not talking about those reporters covering high…