Sports Illustrated operator says 'difficult' changes saved money
Newsroom demands recognition of union from Maven
The media company operating Sports Illustrated touted the difficult and traumatic changes it brought to the storied magazine after outperforming 2019 financial forecasts — just a day after SI's editorial staff said they are unionizing.
The media company, Maven, generated more than $45 million in revenue in the fourth quarter, attributing part of its growth to SI, it said Tuesday.
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"We are pleased by the positive results," Maven founder James Heckman said in a statement. "Similar to our 2018 restructuring initiatives, we quickly forced many difficult, and sometimes traumatic changes, which we deemed necessary to transition SI’s business back to a trusted and growing heritage brand."
Some of those changes may have included the departure of Christian Stone, the longtime SI editor-in-chief, in October. That same month, Maven laid off 40 SI staff members. The business had about 160 employees at the time, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Cover models Hailey Clauson, left, and Ashley Graham attend the 2016 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue launch party at Brookfield Place on Tuesday, Feb, 16, 2016, in New York.
Meanwhile, many members of SI's editorial staff said they were forming a union with the NewsGuild of New York on Monday.
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"SI's print staff has been represented by the Guild since the magazine's founding," the SI Union posted on Twitter. "It is long past time for management to acknowledge that, in this context as in all others, we are one newsroom."
In a statement on its website, the newsroom's union said that Maven's changes have left the newsroom gutted, less diverse and staff with unvetted team reporters that have threatened the credibility of SI's journalism.
"Moreover, Maven’s directive to launch a network of team reporters on SI’s platforms without sufficient vetting or editorial oversight has already resulted in errors that severely undermine our credibility, the statement reads. "Our staff is not alone in voicing concerns about the future of SI. We have heard from long-time subscribers, advertisers, peers in the business and the athletes and teams we cover, looking for assurances that SI will continue to produce high-quality journalism."
Maven said it plans on "$27 million in operational savings at Sports Illustrated" in 2020 compared to 2018.