I just this week read the last Sports Illustrated of 2017, which is also, I learned from the editor’s letter, the last weekly issue in the magazine’s 63-year history. I may save it, not as a memorable piece of history but as a sterling example of doublespeak. In explaining the move to a biweekly, the editor follows the lead of countless newspapers and presents a diminished product as a positive development, something that is really for the benefit of readers. There is no mention of declining advertising or revenue. (Does he think his audience is so besotted by sports that it's not aware of the economic forces in publishing?) The most offensive part of the letter comes at the end, when this man who has made a career out of working with words tells his readers – who have just learned that they will be receiving about half the number of issues they’re accustomed to getting – “we’re excited to have you along as Sports Illustrated evolves and grows.”
