Dianna Russini caused quite a stir last month when she bid farewell to ESPN and embarked on a new journey as a reporter and insider at The Athletic.
Even Russini herself acknowledged that her move was bound to catch most industry observers off guard.
However, it’s abundantly clear that The Athletic was determined to secure her services, making a substantial financial commitment to bring her into their fold.
For her part, Russini expressed that she had felt somewhat constrained in her role at ESPN and was eager to take a leap into the unknown.
Russini recently appeared on CBS Sports Radio alongside Damon Amendolara, who extended his congratulations on her new position with The Athletic.
Amendolara playfully referred to Peter King’s report, which claimed that Russini would become “one of the highest-paid writers in the history of the august New York Times company.”
You know you’re big time when your move from ESPN to The Athletic is covered by Peter King. Congrats @DMRussini. pic.twitter.com/RZA1F7uIV6
— Damon Amendolara (@DAonCBS) September 1, 2023
While Russini expressed her admiration for King’s stature in the industry and joined in some lighthearted laughter with Amendolara, she did admit to being somewhat taken aback by King’s decision to highlight her compensation in such a prominent way as part of his article.
Her response was, “What is that!? I was like, look, there were some angles in that article that I was a little blindsided by. I understand Peter is obviously a legend and has had so much success. I was shocked he went with that angle, but… (laughter) I thought there was a lot more substance to the story than that. But I understand that in the media landscape of 2023, the line he used about people covering such a popular sport are paid well. I’m not sure where he got all his numbers from, but I can tell you the first thing my husband said after he read that was, ‘did you not share something with me? Are you getting paid a lot more than you were told? That was pretty wild. I hope if anyone had that opportunity listening that read that article that came across it, the takeaway was more about this really exciting opportunity that The Athletic is affording me.”
In his piece, King had interviewed Russini at NBC Sports, expressing his astonishment that someone as widely recognized as her on a national television platform would make the transition to a company focused on the written word. Just in case you’re not aware, print journalism has faced significant challenges in the 21st century.
In the column, King also shared some details that might have contributed to Russini’s surprise.
“From a traditional journalism perspective, Russini’s move may not seem logical. To contemplate that she will likely earn more than esteemed Times figures like Maggie Haberman or David Brooks—and, remarkably, perhaps even more than both of them combined—is indicative of the peculiar state of sports journalism in our times.”
Star figures covering the NFL command astonishing salaries in comparison to those reporting on more consequential news.
However, King suggests that the move does make sense if Russini can draw in subscriptions and serve as a source of revenue for The Athletic.
As demonstrated by other Athletic writers, such as Bob Kravitz, the reliance on subscriptions can be a fierce and competitive endeavor. Regardless of the magnitude of her salary, it appears that both Russini and The Athletic are placing a substantial bet on each other’s future success.
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