In Media, the Cuts Keep on Coming

The pain felt by alternative weeklies turned out to be just the beginning of the crippling impact the coronavirus is having on the already struggling media industry. With advertising revenues continuing to plunge as brands across the board slash marketing budgets, an increasing number of publishers of all shapes and sizes are being forced to take drastic measures to keep their heads above water. Among them is Maven Media, the publisher of Sports Illustrated. It laid off 31 people this week, the equivalent of 9 percent of its staff, and shrank executive pay by almost a third. Around 6 percent of Sports Illustrated journalists, who were hit by a separate round of layoffs in October and are currently trying to form a union, were impacted. In a memo to staff, chief executive officer James Heckman explained that it’s expecting a $30 million loss in revenue this year due to the cancellation of major sporting events such as March Madness and the Olympic Games. “We’re anticipating a $30 million reduction in revenue for 2020, comprised of a $17 million reduction in sponsorship sales, $10 million reduction in programmatic CPM-driven sales, and $3 million in other revenue initiatives, such as events,” he said. Gannett, the owner of

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