Sports Illustrated: all staff laid off

In recent months, Sports Illustrated has been the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons. But why?

Mainly because the bosses there decided it made sense to have robots, i.e. artificial intelligence, write copy. These robots had fake profiles on the site and everything.

Let’s just say that the discovery of this news didn’t exactly go down well. After all, it was really dumbing down to think that such an idea was worthy of the name.

SI couldn’t adapt to the new reality of the industry (which is the basis for survival… whatever the industry and whatever the times) and, with hindsight, we understand that the company took a chance.

Why do I say this? Because we’ve just learned that the entire staff has been laid off.

This just a few months after reports that Sports Illustrated published A.I.-generated product reviews under fake author names with fake author biographies.
Sad to see what has become of a publication that once set the standard for sports journalism. https://t.co/0sqUtdskGd

– Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) January 19, 2024

Once a model to follow, Sports Illustrated was already a shadow of its former self. But now, the last few months have simply been catastrophic for the company.

Because, yes, it had long been the benchmark. Jean Béliveau was even featured on the cover of a book in 1956. That’s a long time, anyway.

Jean Béliveau. The first hockey player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (1956) pic.twitter.com/UnnG1Qz7xY

– The Hockey Samurai 侍 (@hockey_samurai) January 19, 2024

It’s a shame to see everyone lose their jobs, either now or in the short term. After all, the company could hardly do worse than this.

It should be noted that a publication license payment of $2.8 million was not paid by the brand owners. This was the final nail in the coffin for SI, which lost its license.

Five years ago, SI was sold for $110 million. A few years later, it’s clear that the investment wasn’t worth it when you see what has become of it all.

Let’s hope that the people who lost their jobs will be able to get back on their feet.

The entire staff of Sports Illustrated was just notified that their jobs were being eliminated https://t.co/PPkjn4qX3b

– philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 19, 2024

In gusto

– Jim Rutherford is in Vancouver to stay.

As mentioned on the @jeffmarek show (today hosted by @Mattymar89), Vancouver has been discussing a three-year extension with Jim Rutherford. We will see if that’s today’s announcement

– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 19, 2024

– Yanni Gourde could be suspended.

Seattle’s Yanni Gourde will have a hearing today for charging Edmonton’s Mattias Ekholm.

– NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) January 19, 2024

– To be continued.

Two big names are pushing for the creation of a university hockey circuit in Quebec: Jacques Tanguay and Serge Savard.

For Tanguay, it’s time for the universities to meet once and for all.https://t.co/c8gioNg5lB

– Kevin Dubé (@KDubeJDQ) January 19, 2024

– Things aren’t going well for the Lions. [HERE]

– Adam Engstrom is growing in stature on the ice.

Thomas Grégoire has been let go by Rögle, rumoured to go to Freiburg-Gotteron (NL).
Should open up for more offensive play for Adam Engström pic.twitter.com/kSwuwUUC4V

– Patrik Bexell (@Zeb_Habs) January 19, 2024