Boxing Scene laying off quality writers

[Ruthless-RKO]

Terrible what happened with BS laying off a slew of quality writers and editors today. Good luck to all of you, including @EricRaskin, @JasonLangendorf, @fightingwords2, @TrisDixon and @MattCBoxingNews, @ryansongalia. #boxing

[Ruthless-RKO]

Like several other outstanding boxing writers and editors whose tweets you may have seen today, my time writing columns for @BS is coming to an end. I have one last piece running tomorrow, then it's on to figuring out what's next for me in the boxing media space.

The changes at BS are sudden and sad, but ... this is the business we have chosen. Huge thank you to @TrisDixon @MattCBoxingNews @fightingwords2 @JasonLangendorf @decwarrington and anyone else who edited me during my time there. It's been an honor working with this crew.

[Ruthless-RKO]

After 20 years as a boxing reporter, I’m once again a freelancer. I’m grateful for the opportunity BS gave me and proud of the work I did there. It was an honor working alongside so many writers and editors I admire and respect.

I’m open to new opportunities in boxing media and would appreciate any leads. In the meantime, I’ll continue covering the sport on http://NJBoxingNews.com while also training my amateur boxers. Thank you to everyone who has supported my work over the years.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Sad to say this is also my last month @BS

I am so grateful I was able to return home. 2004-2017 and 2024-2026 is a pretty good ride. And to share this journey alongside teammates who are both great people and great writers made these last two years amazing. Thank you.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Last day at @BS was unexpected and obviously bittersweet, but we had an excellent run featuring one of the best collections of boxing journalism talent you'll find under one roof. Appreciate all my teammates and their superb work over the past two years.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Matt Christie and Tris Dixon too

[REAL_DEAL]

Just listened to boxing pateron podcast with matt cristie probably give his reaction next week.

Writing does seem a death form the way boxing news went and hard to see boxing scene generating money. Also i think boxing scene are shadow banned from certain promoters.

Boxing production pretty much killed off freelanchers on the boxing photography world over here.

good luck to the layed off staff.

[JamesPhilips]

Surely BS could not have afforded all these guys on salary? I assume they would pay per article?

I don’t really know the model for online sites.

I also think, unfortunately, Boxing News won’t last another year as a print publication.

[Old bones Ian]

AI written articles coming in with proof reading to correct factual errors I'm guessing, no cost to pay actual writers that way.

[KiwiRider]

AI written articles coming in with proof reading to correct factual errors I'm guessing, no cost to pay actual writers that way.

Yep. Seems the way everything is going.
Even respected newspapers are using AI for editorials and "opinion pieces"
People will search for people though, as long as they can be found.

[veriton]

I also think, unfortunately, Boxing News won’t last another year as a print publication.

I really hope you're wrong on that. I'd be interested to see the numbers since they went monthly at 12 quid a copy.

Going full Ali in the fifth edition doesn't fill me with confidence but maybe others disagree. I'll keep subscribing as long as it's going out of loyalty anyway.

[dookus]

Jesus, that's terrible. Bodes very badly for boxing media as a whole.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Sucks to see folks being told that their time at Boxing Scene is up. No one likes getting those types of calls. It's either get with another company that will pay you close but less than what you were making (or more) or go the indie route. Substack has been a solid alternative for some.

[Ruthless-RKO]

It sucks getting fired. I have been “let go” a few times, and can’t pretend it doesn’t sting. Media just laid off, I have felt the pain. Sudden change in income, identity is challenging. You can make a site from just people Garry has let go and it would be a success. Lots of talent.

[MPW]

Pretty crappy news from Boxing Scene. Interestingly enough, a number of their writers, including Eric Raskin and Tris Dixon, just won numerous Bernie Writing Awards from the Boxing Writers Association of America, as announced earlier this month. Seems like quality work isn't valued very highly any more.

[johnmanchester]

You can make a site from just people Garry has let go and it would be a success. Lots of talent.

Doubt it tbh

Long-form written word is on its deathbed. Even news articles have all but been superseded by tweets. Don't need ten paragraphs when the salient point can be communicated in two sentences.

This isn't just specific to boxing, it's all across the media landscape. Print is dying, digital writing is consolidating into a few large sites - eg Daily Mail, TMZ etc

Twitter, insta, YT and tiktok are the new mediums. Quick, cheap, unfussy. Low barrier to entry, low cost vs maintaining a staff of writers, editors etc.

You could by all means assemble the departed BS writers into a new site, provided none of them wanted to be paid.

If I was one of these let-go writers with a good contacts book, I'd be pivoting to ad-funded channels like YT, cranking out shorts and zooms.

If that sounds like competing with IFL etc - yes, basically. The weight of market has shifted to what IFL is doing.

Any of these guys hanging on, clinging on to the idea of landing a new paid boxing writer gig is deluded. Remember all the ringside radiomen of the 1920-40s? TV killed them. Video and social has killed websites and the written word.

[Ruthless-RKO]

You can make a site from just people Garry has let go and it would be a success. Lots of talent.

You could by all means assemble the departed BS writers into a new site, provided none of them wanted to be paid.

If I was one of these let-go writers with a good contacts book, I'd be pivoting to ad-funded channels like YT, cranking out shorts and zooms.

Dan Rafael moved on to SubStack.

i don't know how much he charges for a subscription. I do like his style of writing .. but maybe not many are. plenty of people out there with deent sources.. you can find a free-version of whatever he has written via ring mag, or boxingnewsonline, boxing scene or even ESPN.

I notice a lot less articles are being posted on these sites as well.

[veriton]

You can make a site from just people Garry has let go and it would be a success. Lots of talent.

Doubt it tbh

Long-form written word is on its deathbed. Even news articles have all but been superseded by tweets. Don't need ten paragraphs when the salient point can be communicated in two sentences.

This isn't just specific to boxing, it's all across the media landscape. Print is dying, digital writing is consolidating into a few large sites - eg Daily Mail, TMZ etc

Twitter, insta, YT and tiktok are the new mediums. Quick, cheap, unfussy. Low barrier to entry, low cost vs maintaining a staff of writers, editors etc.

You could by all means assemble the departed BS writers into a new site, provided none of them wanted to be paid.

If I was one of these let-go writers with a good contacts book, I'd be pivoting to ad-funded channels like YT, cranking out shorts and zooms.

If that sounds like competing with IFL etc - yes, basically. The weight of market has shifted to what IFL is doing.

Any of these guys hanging on, clinging on to the idea of landing a new paid boxing writer gig is deluded. Remember all the ringside radiomen of the 1920-40s? TV killed them. Video and social has killed websites and the written word.

You're assuming that people articulate with writing are also articulate in spoken form. That often just isn't the case as they're very different skills. How many of these talking heads even know how to hold a pen the right way around, for instance.

YouTube favours pub chat talkers and skin deep reaction. It's no good for proper analysis, introspection or tackling complex ideas which are all suited to the written word.

Some of us prefer reading to listening. One exception for me is, as an example, measured and knowledgeable reaction to an event. I watched a long interview with Dom Ingle about DDD v Wardley and it was very interesting as Ingle always is.

But someone putting out 'shorts' is of zero interest.

And I laugh when people say about print dying and digital being the future. There's an element of truth but I've worked places where print revenue enabled the digital side because that couldn't pay for itself, even though all the noise was about digital. It was boring old print that was paying for digital!

[giacomino]

Last day at @BS was unexpected and obviously bittersweet, but we had an excellent run featuring one of the best collections of boxing journalism talent you'll find under one roof. Appreciate all my teammates and their superb work over the past two years.

[giacomino]

You can make a site from just people Garry has let go and it would be a success. Lots of talent.

Doubt it tbh

Long-form written word is on its deathbed. Even news articles have all but been superseded by tweets. Don't need ten paragraphs when the salient point can be communicated in two sentences.

This isn't just specific to boxing, it's all across the media landscape. Print is dying, digital writing is consolidating into a few large sites - eg Daily Mail, TMZ etc

Twitter, insta, YT and tiktok are the new mediums. Quick, cheap, unfussy. Low barrier to entry, low cost vs maintaining a staff of writers, editors etc.

You could by all means assemble the departed BS writers into a new site, provided none of them wanted to be paid.

If I was one of these let-go writers with a good contacts book, I'd be pivoting to ad-funded channels like YT, cranking out shorts and zooms.

If that sounds like competing with IFL etc - yes, basically. The weight of market has shifted to what IFL is doing.

Any of these guys hanging on, clinging on to the idea of landing a new paid boxing writer gig is deluded. Remember all the ringside radiomen of the 1920-40s? TV killed them. Video and social has killed websites and the written word.

You're assuming that people articulate with writing are also articulate in spoken form. That often just isn't the case as they're very different skills. How many of these talking heads even know how to hold a pen the right way around, for instance.

YouTube favours pub chat talkers and skin deep reaction. It's no good for proper analysis, introspection or tackling complex ideas which are all suited to the written word.

Some of us prefer reading to listening. One exception for me is, as an example, measured and knowledgeable reaction to an event. I watched a long interview with Dom Ingle about DDD v Wardley and it was very interesting as Ingle always is.

But someone putting out 'shorts' is of zero interest.

And I laugh when people say about print dying and digital being the future. There's an element of truth but I've worked places where print revenue enabled the digital side because that couldn't pay for itself, even though all the noise was about digital. It was boring old print that was paying for digital!

Not everyone has a five-second attention span and is happy with non-stop fake posts (re: X). That may be how the world is going, but it’s not necessarily good and I have to hope there is a market, probably a lot smaller one, for in-depth coverage that takes in more than a tweet or an Instagram post. Many if not most are happy with shallow posts, which is one of the reasons “us vs them” politics has proliferated so much, but I hope there is a world for more than that

[forcefraser]

Quality writing is appreciated by a slowly evaporating group of oldies

[Evander]

Unfortunatley
I think we can turn it around though

[SeanBrennan]

It’s a sad day when these people can’t earn a living in the sport but absolute melts like Charlie Parsons can nick a living pushing Dazn 5 per cent discounts and asking prescribed questions. Scum thrive and real journalists struggle. Very sad.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Even Breadman



Whoever writes in to my mailbag keep it writing in. It won't be on @BS anymore but it will land somewhere. @BS thanks for everything it's been a good run. 14 years is a good run in this rough game.

[golden_labrador]

It’s a sad day when these people can’t earn a living in the sport but absolute melts like Charlie Parsons can nick a living pushing Dazn 5 per cent discounts and asking prescribed questions. Scum thrive and real journalists struggle. Very sad.

yep. poorly disguised PR is gradually replacing proper journalism. maybe this and the rise of AI articles will finally make us shell out $$$ for real journalism and writers, wherever it ends up.