Marc Antoine Godin’s departure: The Athletic will no longer offer French-language content

Yesterday morning, The Athletic platform announced a wave of cuts. The result?

20 field journalists lost their jobs. Marc Antoine Godin, who was assigned to cover the Canadiens, is one of them.

This is sad news for the team’s beat, because Marc Antoine Godin was (and still is) recognized as one of the best journalists in the business. Following the announcement of his departure, a multitude of his fellow journalists took the time to salute his work, as he is excellent at what he does.

One question, in particular, came up a lot on Twitter after the news broke. Will The Athletic continue to offer French-language content, even after Godin’s departure?

Arpon Basu answered that question. And, as unfortunate as it may be, the answer to that question is no.

I’m very sad that our French service will end like this, but obviously this decision is out of my control. – Arpon Basu

Arpon Basu also mentioned, in another tweet, that he doesn’t yet know whether the “Le Support Athlétique” podcast he hosted alongside Marc Antoine Godin will continue.

It’s a real, real shame. And it’s sad that it’s come to this.

After all, The Athletic’s original mission was to provide appropriate regional coverage in all markets. This will no longer be the case in Montreal.

How can The Athletic identify with the Montreal market if the content is only in English?

Obviously, all this has and will have consequences for the platform, which is already starting to see some readers cancel their respective subscriptions. Take a look at the comments on Arpon Basu’s tweet that I inserted above.

It might give you a good idea of the situation.

In bursts

– We’ve been waiting for confirmation. And now it’s done.

– Patrick Sharp began his career with the Flyers.

– Money is beautiful!

– The Panthers are banged up.

– There’s only one right answer to this question.