Nows and Forevers

I never thought I’d live to see the day that The New York Times would jettison its sports department.

Yet that’s what it will do, instead leaning on its recently acquired digital sports platform, The Athletic, and shifting the 35 or so reporters and editors on the Times sports desk to other jobs.

It’s running because of what the Times sports department has done in its long history. Some of journalism’s most famous names have gone through there, including Red Smith, George Vescey and Robert Lipsyte. I’m not really a sports fan, but The Times’ sports section was always worth looking at.

At the same time, though, things have been changing in journalism overall and at The Times. Gone are box scores, the standalone section, and a dedicated reporter to each team, what we call a beat reporter. Those moves would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. It now seems wise, for journalism is not what it used to be.

The Athletic is taking the lead role in sports coverage for The Times and its website. It’s had challenges of its own — including not making any money and recently laying off staff — but by the way, I’ve been a subscriber of both The Times and The Athletic. Both are great.

I’m sure this is not the only dramatic change at The Times, which is the one newspaper I’ve read all my life and that I subscribe to along with The Washington Post. But it’s also surprising, how things have shaken out, for I kinda thought that The Times was relatively immune to the changes in media, at least in terms of economics, being one of the only media outlets (The Wall Street Journal is another) that has made the transition to digital somewhat well.

I gotta wonder, what’s the next shoe to drop?