TO OUR READERS
One of the frustrations of publishing a weekly sports magazine
is that some of the newsiest news is of only fleeting interest.
It's no longer fresh by the time the magazine reaches mailboxes
and newsstands. Moments are lost. Exclusives are no longer
exclusive. News often does not wait to be printed with
four-color photography and distributed to Sports Illustrated's
22 million readers.
"I have a problem," the SI writer says from the road, beginning
a traditional dialogue with an editor in New York. "I know
something that no one else in the media knows: The coach is
going to be fired in the morning."
"Yes?"
"And the quarterback is quitting. And the team is moving to a
new stadium in Winnetka, Illinois. And everyone else will learn
all this at a press conference tomorrow, so it doesn't really
matter that I know the facts before the rest of the world."
It matters now. Starting this Thursday at 8 p.m. (EST), anyone
who wants to learn the newsiest news--and learn it first--should
be watching CNN/SI, the new 24-hour cable sports network that
links the news-gathering resources of the country's largest
sports weekly to the production capabilities of one of the
largest television news operations. The watcher will find out
the news not only as it happens but often before it happens.
"This is an unprecedented marriage of print and television
journalism," says CNN/SI managing editor Steve Robinson, a
longtime senior editor at the magazine. "More than 100 SI
writers, reporters and editors will work with their CNN
counterparts to present news, commentaries and in-depth features
that will be different from anything else seen on television.
All night, all day, every day."
CNN/SI will initially be on a limited number of cable systems,
but viewers in the 70 million homes that receive CNN can sample
the new network when CNN turns to CNN/SI for its regularly
scheduled sports reports. To receive CNN/SI, contact your cable
operator. Ask for the network that will give you the up-to-date
news from SI.
COLOR PHOTO: GREG FOSTER SI writers like Peter King (left) and Tim Layden will serve up scoops on CNN/SI. [Two technicians watching monitors on which Peter King and Tim Layden appear]