Sports Illustrated took the stage more than ten decades ago and had ever since achieved the unthinkable. This is the magazine that has transformed the sports industry by popularizing all types of games. The magazine gives each sport equal opportunity in its reporting and offers comprehensive coverage and detailed statistics for each. Inc.’s publisher, Henry Luce is the driving force for this magazine and but the most fantastic thing is that he was not a sports fan. His primary concern that made him take an interest in sports was that he felt that media did not give the American love for sports as much concentration as it deserved.
The Magazine’s Start-up Challenges
Henry R. Luce (1898-1967), the editor and publisher of Time, Fortune and Life, 1937. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Sports Illustrated did not face the obvious challenge like competition which is many magazines face as they establish. The magazine was venturing in a new business that other magazines did not have any interest in. Henry Luce’s first challenge was to get a serious team that was willing to be committed to run the magazine weekly. There was a notion in the public that sport did not deserve serious journalism. This was a big issue since the magazine was new to the market and it has to show its commitment to its quest to popularize sports. The second challenge was that the staff was unsupportive and hated the idea of specializing in games. His sport nicknamed the magazine Jockstrap or Sweat socks.