Sporting News President & Publisher Jeff Price and Editor-in-Chief Garry Howard today formally announced the magazine “will officially become a digital brand as of January 1” after 126 years of "printing ink on paper with weekly, biweekly or monthly frequency." Sporting News will “continue to print six highly popular, sport-specific yearbook previews in 2013 -- Baseball, NFL, College Football and College Basketball plus Fantasy Football and Fantasy Baseball -- that will be available at newsstands across the country.” Neither the “subscriber base nor the current advertising market for print would allow” the publication “to operate a profitable print business going forward.” Mobile or tablet apps on Apple iOS or Android can be downloaded, with the majority of content “presented free” (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 12/11). Media writer Ed Sherman writes it has "been a while since many people thought of The Sporting News as a magazine, which is why that vehicle is fading away." Sporting News "follows the lead of Newsweek, which also is ceasing its print publication." The magazine was "huge when I was coming of sports age in the 70s." Unlike the "glossy Sports Illustrated, with its long articles, The Sporting News felt and read like a newspaper." The magazine "featured columnists from other towns" including Furman Bisher and Art Spander. It also had Jack Craig, the "first sports media columnist for the Boston Globe." Sherman: "For those of us who grew up waiting for the magazine to land in the mail box, we owe a debt of gratitude to The Sporting News. A truly great institution" (SHERMANREPORT.com, 12/11). Sporting News is owned by American City Business Journals, parent company of THE DAILY and SportsBusiness Journal.
