[January 24, 2024] There is a saying about what happens to companies that adopt extreme progressive values. We’ve all heard it. “Go woke, go broke.” There has been much talk about this ever since Bud Light tanked after pandering to the woke and transgender crowd early last year. This disaster is a reality for businesses that opt to show off their woke politics. The latest is Sports Illustrated, which laid off nearly all its publication staff.
Sports Illustrated has been around since its founding in 1954 by Stuart Scheftel. It was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million and won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence. So how could this iconic magazine fail and fail so spectacularly?
Of course, the progressive news media lacked openness, so we go to X (formally Twitter) for a more humorous and sometimes truthful take on SI’s fall from grace. Various commentators suggested that their failure had much to do with the direction new management had taken from four years ago.
“I wonder why Sports Illustrated went broke … they featured obese women and a man who dressed up as a woman.” – Libs of TikTok.
Even NPR, a hyper-liberal organization, admitted that “Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue has a Trans model on the Cover for the 1st Time.” A trans-woman on the cover created a major uproar in 2021 when this edition came out, and since it was such a “success,” they did it again in 2023. And, of course, they started putting obese women on the cover as well.
Not only were these bad choices, but they also stopped accepting advertising money from those who weren’t on board with their radical, woke agenda. This behavior is a guaranteed way to fail when you do accept money to keep your magazine afloat. Adweek wrote, “Only serious ‘change makers’ will get to do business with the legacy platform [meaning SI].”
Other bad leadership decisions led some, like the tech site Futurism, to accuse the publication of using AI-generated content that included bylines and photographs of fake authors. SI appeared to be rudderless since The Arean Group fired CEO Ross Levinsohn last month, according to a New York Post article.
It looks like Sports Illustrated played themselves. Now they’re walking … out the door.
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Please read my books:
“‘Inclusive’ Sports Illustrated Swimsuit show features plus-sized models”
https://nypost.com/2021/07/11/sports-illustrated-swimsuit-show-features-plus-sized-models/
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit made a splash over the weekend with a new “inclusive” runway show featuring women of diverse body types, ages and races. The magazine, known for its steamy swimsuit issue, showed off a rainbow of plus-sized models, moms and entrepreneurs on the poolside catwalk at the luxury Mondrian Hotel on South Beach Saturday.
THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
Heaping failure upon failure will lead to failure. Gee, who would have known that Wokeism is just another way to fail in business.
Failure to plan is a plan to failure. SI new concept of inclusion led to Failure.
OUCH ……………………
Thank you Gen. Satterfield for this long overdue article on an example of more failures of being woke. The short version of woke is that is a form of outright discrimination against white males. Too many of the crazies are happy that they can retaliate against those who are smarter and better than they are. Their new woke ideology says that if you adopt it, then you are automatically morally superior to those who haven’t accepted this mantra. And thus, you are a good person and they are evil. This is a very dangerous ideology. Good to see that it is starting to burn itself out.
Well said, Ron C. 👍👍👍👍👍
When you lose NPR……………………
“I wonder why Sports Illustrated went broke … they featured obese women and a man who dressed up as a woman.” – Libs of TikTok.
I just started to use SI as an example of how to fail. I teach HS and my students are interested in real-world examples. But they cringe when I use their idols as examples of what NOT to do. Kills them. I think more and more are red-pilled every day.
Mr. TJ, keep up the work converted stupid minds to smart minds. Blue to Red pill.
Yes, thanks TJ for creating reality in the classroom. Most teachers today are making students more stupid and more ‘activist.’ Too bad. That won’t work out too well with them.
Using AI-generated content with fake bylines. Wow, a great way to kill your brand.
When I saw a trans woman (translation a mentally ill man thinking he is a woman) on the cover, I immediately stopped buying the magazine and never looked back. And, on another note, how could they be so stupid as to reject advertising money from those they considered less “woke?” That was really dumb, and right up there with all the nutty things college students do when they have no experience and happen to believe that any thought that pops into their heads is the best thing since sliced bread. No wonder our campuses are failing.
…. ❤ love the comment Newbie (hope you don’t live in communist Seattle). ❤
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Stay the course folks, and never ever ever believe what a wokester tells you, or you’re screwed.
Sports Illustrated goes down in flames. But to be more accurate, lets just say that the current management of SI is gone. The brand name is still alive and could be revived in the future without their stupid, business killing wokey thinking. ✌
Great article Gen. Satterfield on Sports Illustrated. The new Bud Light of magazines.
You got that right, JT.
OUCH, what else is there to say other than “WE TOLD YOU SO.” 🤷♂️
“GO WOKE, GO BROKE!” Not much else to say, and I agree with you Wilson that too many peoples are caught up in their echo chamber of “compassion.” Of course, we all know that too much compassion actually kills others you heap that compassion upon. That means Liberal Progressive pajama-wearing, basement dwelling dwebs are losing their sh##.
Vanguard, well said. Too many nutjobs running he government doesn’t help either.
Naturally, great comments today on Gen. Satterfield’s leadership forums. This is where ideas grow or die, depending upon their validity and I think we can safely say that “wokeism” is a dead end ideology.
Nailed it guys!!!! Stay away from these kind of poeple …. far far far away or they will suck you into their circle and destroy your mind.