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‘The new ESPN looks innocent enough’

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By Justin Klawans

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‘The new ESPN looks innocent enough’

Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

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ESPN has a ‘drive to appeal to younger viewers’

(Image credit: AaronP / Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images)

Justin Klawans, The Week US

23 September 2025

‘ESPN has discarded brilliant journalism for squirts of memebrain swill’
Aaron Timms at The Guardian

For a “certain segment of American sports fans, all change is automatically bad,” says Aaron Timms. The “outrage prompted by the latest upheavals at ESPN certainly fits the pattern of involuntary fan resistance to change.” Hiring influencers is the “latest move in ESPN’s drive to appeal to younger viewers,” but this “symbolizes a broader rot at the heart of ESPN.” A “company that once set the news agenda in sports is now just another sweaty social media setup.”

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Justin Klawans, The Week US

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Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.

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