OTish: RIP Sporting News (Mag), 1886-2012

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

Wow. Even though I never really read TSN much, it is still kind of sad to see a publication that old close it's doors. Just a sign of the times I suppose seeing as how Borders Books store (an Ann Arbor based company) closed it's doors last year and now the print magazines are starting to go by the wayside. 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/12/11/167001870/after-126-years-the-sporting-news-stops-the-presses

Doc Brown

December 11th, 2012 at 9:50 PM ^

Misleading title. The TSN will continue as an online only periodical through its AOL partnership.

 

Don't get out the bagpipes quite yet, however. The Sporting News will continue as an all-digital brand with its AOL-partnered website, as well as its iPad and Android apps.

 

MichiganManOf1961

December 11th, 2012 at 10:07 PM ^

Anything "published" online is not going to be as good as a magazine that is scrutinized by an editor.  How was they even going to make money if people do not have to pay a subscription fee and they do not sell anything?  Why would they partner with America Online?  I finally had to cancel my contract with them, the internet was just getting slower and slower, especially since I moved.  I don't know if AOL does not have an office in Florida, but it is much slower. 

~Herm

StateStreetApostle

December 11th, 2012 at 9:56 PM ^

in related news, the severed head of Ted Williams is being cryogenically preserved somewhere in Arizona also.  So he's not RIP either.

 

EDIT:  how long do i have to be here to remember how to reply to a post rather than the OP?  yeesh.

Rasmus

December 12th, 2012 at 9:29 AM ^

They're a lot like Yahoo now -- a digital media company with free email accounts. They own an array of properties, including MapQuest, Moviefone, TechCrunch, Engadget, Huffington Post. The Sporting News fills a gap in their portfolio -- not quite sure what being "partners" with AOL means, but I'll guess it means AOL will eventually own it, if it doesn't already.

AOL still offers dial-up access, though:

http://get.aol.com/plans/index.php

[Select the "I am a dial-up internet User" button to see the 100% dial-up plans.]

French West Indian

December 12th, 2012 at 8:50 AM ^

There have actually been ample successful launches in recent years.  The difference is that they tend to cater to niche markets and often cost a premium.  For example, as long as they keep producing quality content, I'll happily pay extra for something like Treats! or Monocle.

The old idea of a print offering reaching mass appeal, however, does appear to be terminal.  Some of it is the result of technology but a lot of their problems have been self-inflicted by gutting their quality in cost saving efforts.

M-Dog

December 11th, 2012 at 10:27 PM ^

I still have my TSN from right after the Michgian 1997 national championship Rose Bowl game with Charles Woodson on the cover.  It is a thing of beauty.

 

snarling wolverine

December 11th, 2012 at 10:31 PM ^

I liked TSN.  Those complete MLB team statistics were awesome in the pre-internet age.  

I know now we have access to more information than ever, but I feel like we're losing something with print media going away.  

Yeoman

December 14th, 2012 at 9:15 PM ^

Not just the MLB statistics, but the minor league stats and box scores. There wasn't a better way to keep up with baseball back then, and I read every issue pretty much cover-to-cover in the 70s and early 80s.

We were an Avalon Hill (the SI games) and APBA crowd though--didn't play Strat except for hockey.

M-Wolverine

December 11th, 2012 at 10:48 PM ^

They seemed to have an Ohio bent. They're the ones that printed the "M stands for Mediocre" article back in 1997. Still sad to see an institution go by the wayside in changing times.

michfan6060

December 12th, 2012 at 12:15 AM ^

I used to have subscriptions to Sporting News, SI, and ESPN the magazine all at once. Then the internets tooks over. The Sporting News was a real good magazine. I feel bad for ditching them now.

goblue20111

December 12th, 2012 at 12:27 AM ^

It's just not very efficient.  I got that magazine deal for ESPN for $9 for 2 years posted on here and I know that physical copy is going straight to the trash.  I only got it for free insider.  Print is gone by the wayside.  I get there's a little bit of nostalgia involved but meh.  I love being able to take my tablet on trips and having books, magazines, movies, musics and games all on one small device.  I have endless entertainment options as opposed to having pick and choose what I want to bring.  

goblue20111

December 12th, 2012 at 8:46 AM ^

LOL good one.  Gutenberg is seriously one of the more underrated scientific minds in history.  Doubtful though.  He was a man of science and progress like other Enligtenment thinkers [though he probably pre-dates what most of us think of as the Enlightenment era].  They didn't spend their time yearning for the past but looked ahead.

French West Indian

December 12th, 2012 at 9:00 AM ^

...to see a number of people on here claim that "print is dead" yet wasn't this the same website that just this year managed to raise more than twice their goal in a fundraising effort to produce a print magazine/book called Hail To The Victors?

I'll re-iterate my earlier point, print is by no means dead.  In fact, there is a lot of opportunity right now if you produce quality content.  What is dying is profit driven, corporately produced shit, like the Fr**p, that lack any worthwhile content.  This is a good trend but it by no means implies that the print medium is finished.