"SI is a dead magazine walking."

Clay Travis analyzes the news of Time Warner spinning off magazines like Sports Illustrated and concludes that it's only a matter of time before print is gone and SI becomes another online Grantland.

I wouldn't agree, and certainly hope he's dead wrong. But then again this is shocking...

SI's descent has been a slow slide, preciptated by difficulty leaving behind print dollars to chase Internet dimes.

As recently as last year do you know what the posted rate was for a full-page ad in Sports Illustrated?

$392,800.

$392,800!

When you were making that kind of money, it was hard to get very excited about the opportunity of the Internet. You want to know who the companies were that got very excited about the opportunity of the Internet? The ones that didn't have the ability to sell full page magazine ads for $392,800.

In the halcyon days of print, the magazine business was amazing. Hell, all of print was. You might read the articles, but the magazine or newspaper existed for one reason -- as a mobile ad device to deliver advertisements to your doorstep. Yep, the first mobile ads were in print media.