By Daniel Singer
Today”s edition of Sports Illustrated on Campus will be the last issue inserted into copies of The Daily Universe during Fall semester and possibly the last issue ever to be run in the newspaper.
NewsNet staffers found out Tuesday morning, Sept. 30, that Sports Illustrated would be unable to modify the content of the popular weekly insert to conform to BYU”s publishing standards.
As of press time, the decision to terminate the SI-NewsNet contract was decided, but the details were not yet finalized. Last-minute negotiations set to occur Thursday morning could open the door for Sports Illustrated on Campus issues to be inserted into Winter semester editions of The Daily Universe.
“We had requested a very difficult thing of [SI],” said Jim Kelly, managing director of NewsNet. “We asked them to change their content and that is a very hard thing from a publishing standpoint.”
Kelly asked Sports Illustrated Wednesday to allow NewsNet to review the rest of Fall Semester inserts and possibly run the insert in Winter editions of the paper.
Sports Illustrated is expected to respond to NewsNet”s request Thursday morning. Representatives at SI were unavailable for comment Wednesday evening.
“This is another example of NewsNet being in a no-lose situation,” Kelly said. “We were up-front about our standards, and though we feel badly that it [NewsNet”s relationship with SI] didn”t work out, we”re glad that we could hold up our standards.”
The termination of the contract is a result of content deemed to be inappropriate being included in two editions of SIOC.
An advertisement for a swimsuit issue kept the Sept. 18 issue out of The Daily Universe. An article about “naked athletics”, accompanied by a picture of 9 naked backsides caused NewsNet staffers to pull the Sept. 25 issue out.
NewsNet administration was complimentary of Sports Illustrated, despite the complications involved with SIOC.
“[Sports Illustrated] as been exceptional in their communication with us and very accommodating,” said Casey Stauffer, advertising director for NewsNet.
“The lion”s share of their writing is exemplary,” Kelly said. “There is value for our readers getting to read top-end sports writing. But, that writing still needs to meet our expectations.”
Students had mixed reactions to the prospect of no longer having SIOC in The Daily Universe.
“Time constraints keep me from reading all of the paper, but whenever it [SIOC] was in the paper I would read it” said Garret Cardon, a senior from San Jose, Calif., majoring in audiology and speech pathology.
Other students approved of the dissolution of the contract.
“I think if it shows pornography it shouldn”t be there,” said Clay Williford a junior majoring in exercise science, from Greensboro, N.C.
