It started in 1954 and today Sports Illustrated is still the golden standard for sports magazines. Sports Illustrated has different articles about all types of sports, depending on the season. It also has many articles about people in sports and something that they do outside the world of sports. Sports Illustrated has always had a good organization and really flows well together each and every week. The first few pages are of different pictures from current sports. Then there are a few short articles from different people. After you get through all that then you get to the longer articles with more pictures. There is always one nice short article on the very last page too. Sports Illustrated does a good job to mix long and short articles.
The great thing about Sports Illustrated is that it is not just words, but they had some of the best sports photography around. They use some great pictures that go with each story and all the pictures are in color and it makes you feel like you were at the game. Some of the different products advertised in Sports Illustrated are, for different cars or cologne also some from different candy places and Pepsi too. Sports gear is another poplar one in Sports Illustrated. In the first few pages there is a lot but once the long articles start there is not as many, which is good.
I found out that there is two parts to SI.com. The first part is the actual website which gives you a great list of many different stories and articles, some of which are more current which keeps you updated on the world of sports. Each sport has a tab and it is easy to find a story for you. The second part is if you click the magazine tab it will take you into a log in page, now if you get Sports Illustrated at your house you can log in and view the magazine online which I thought was really cool. It is the same issue but in an online form for people on the go. Overall online have the same stories but also more up to date ones which is a good thing. Sports Illustrated only comes out once a week but online there are new current stories everyday so online you can get more information everyday but the magazine is still great to get for the once a week articles.
The main competition to Sports Illustrated is ESPN the magazine. I would say the main thing that puts Sports Illustrated over the top is the fact that it comes out every week and ESPN comes out every two weeks. The second thing is that Sports Illustrated is the normal style for a magazine while ESPN is a big magazine and awkward to hold sometimes. In my opinion while I like going to ESPN.com to get current stories, I prefer reading Sports Illustrated in print form because to me they have better articles about more things I want to read about. The most important articles that the editors try to produce is current sports and helping us get to know someone in sports too.
Two great strengths about the print and online version of Sports Illustrated are first the layout of the online site. If you like sports there is a good chance you will find something you want to read. You can get up to date scores and one of the great thing I think is they have lists of SI photo galleries which is very cool. The second strength is the fact that the print form is normal size and it put together well. You have pictures and smell articles in the front which lead to longer articles, white many pictures to go along the way. One last thing is that being on the Sports Illustrated cover is a great accomplishment because the SI cover has become iconic.
Two shortcomings of print and online version of Sports Illustrated are, first in the print version in the first few pages there are short articles about either random sports or not as popular sports. While I like they appeal to everyone, there are a lot of people who just skip those small stories. The second is sometimes the print versions stories are from last week and people want this week’s stories.
The primary target for Sports Illustrated is mostly guys, but also any sports fan in general. If you love sports then Sports Illustrated is for you. The ads do fit because they are for things guys like, cars, candy, cologne and sports gear. There are not really any stereotypes in the articles because they know who is reading it and really write how it is.
I get Sports Illustrated in print form at my house, but if I want current information in sports most of the time I will go to ESPN.com but I have many places I go. For me I prefer the print form because I don’t use SI.com for online information. The Sports Illustrated magazine I get every week I know I will read from cover to cover because the stories interest me and are easy to read. I would say it depends on the audience. If someone is big on reading things on the Internet then the print would better serve them. If it is say maybe an older sports fan who likes reading the print form it would be better serve them. For the instant access, the online form gets you information as it happens.
I do follow Sports Illustrated on facebook and do have the app for my iPhone, along with my ESPN and yahoo sports apps. They all give me all the information I need. I learned that you should really look deep into a magazine to really get the feel for what purpose it serves. Sports Illustrated has been around since 1954 so I figure they are doing something right. I also learned that no matter what sport you might like, Sports Illustrated has it covered and will tell you a little something about it which is a great feature.
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