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Sports activities Illustrated finds a lifeline

Like essentially the most dramatic end of any sporting occasion, Sports activities Illustrated has managed to remain alive when it appeared all hope was gone.

The venerable journal will proceed to publish after Genuine Manufacturers Group, which owns the journal’s mental property rights, announced a deal with a brand new writer.

Minute Media, which can also be dwelling to sports activities content material suppliers The Gamers’ Tribune and FanSided, will take over each the print and digital operations of SI. The corporate says it’s going to work to retain many of the present workers of the publication, in addition to rehire a few of the staffers who had been laid off previously few months, CNN stories.

Sports activities Illustrated’s destiny has been murky because the begin of the 12 months. The Enviornment Group, which had revealed the journal for the previous 5 years, stopped paying Genuine its publishing rights licensing payment in January and instructed staffers that nearly all of them could be laid off. That got here months after the corporate was accused of publishing articles that had been written by AI and attributed to reporters who didn’t exist.

Ross Levinsohn, CEO of Enviornment Group, was fired weeks after those accusations surfaced, as had been three different executives.

“Sports Illustrated is the gold standard for sports journalism and has been for nearly 70 years across both print and digital media,” stated Asaf Peled, founder and CEO of Minute Media. “The weight and power of that distinction cannot be overstated. At Minute Media, our focus will be to take that legacy into new, emerging channels enhancing visibility, commercial viability and sustainable impact, all while ensuring that the SI team is inspired to flourish in this new era of media.”

As a part of the deal, Genuine may also purchase an fairness stake in Minute Media.

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