SI has made three significant hires for the NBA over the past two months, and its top editor says that the publication will look to make similar big-name hires on other beats in the next few months. “Now that we feel like our NBA team is set, we’re going to turn our attention to other coverage areas,” said SI co-Editor-in-Chief Stephen Cannella. “You can look for new additions around the NFL, college sports and all the areas that we cover.” SI’s most recent hire is Chris Herring, who starts next week. Herring, who had been with FiveThirtyEight and ESPN, joins a staff that already includes former Bleacher Report writer Howard Beck -- who joined in December -- and former Vice reporter Michael Pina, who started last month. “The NBA is a huge focus for us and a huge source of interest for our audience, but I wouldn’t call this an NBA-focused strategy,” Cannella said. “It’s simply an area that we’re working on first.” SI’s top five beats are the NFL, NBA, college sports, MLB and soccer, Cannella said. “If we had to pick five sports that we say our main focus, those are the five. That probably hasn’t changed a lot over SI’s history."
