Tim Kawakami was the founding editor of The Athletic’s Bay Area wing as the online sports outlet began its aggressive expansion into local markets around the country in the late 2010s. Now, Kawakami is leaving The Athletic for a different local news startup and bringing the site’s San Francisco 49ers reporter with him.
In a move announced Friday morning, Kawakami and David Lombardi will leave The Athletic for the San Francisco Standard, a digital news outlet founded in 2021 by venture capitalist Michael Moritz. The two former Athletic staffers will lead the San Francisco Standard’s expansion into sports coverage.
“I’m as excited as hell to be joining the Standard. I’ve been reading this site for several years and have consistently been impressed with the smart stories and clear writing,” Kawakami wrote on X. “I’ve learned about its great leadership. So glad that @LombardiHimself will be there with me.”
I’m as excited as hell to be joining the Standard. I’ve been reading this site for several years and have consistently been impressed with the smart stories and clear writing. I’ve learned about its great leadership. So glad that @LombardiHimself will be there with me. https://t.co/VZxzxIPe7k
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) September 13, 2024
Hiring Kawakami and Lombardi makes a ton of sense for the Standard. Both are not only experienced journalists, well-sourced on the Golden State Warriors and 49ers, respectively. More importantly, they both have developed significant followings beyond their writing. The Standard has nearly 150,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok along with several newsletters. The two Athletic reporters they just poached bring loyal audiences in YouTube and podcast form.
From an Athletic standpoint, these losses may not be the biggest names at the publication or even in their Bay Area wing (that’s probably columnist Marcus Thompson), but they represent the further thinning-out of The Athletic’s local reporting. Given that the site’s original mission was to level up local sports coverage with a national network, they seem to be going backward.
Just last month, longtime Pittsburgh Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly departed The Athletic and joined The Pat McAfee Show. The AllCity Network poaches an Athletic staffer or two each time it launches in a new market, including Philadelphia Eagles reporters Bo Wulf and Zach Berman; Dallas Mavericks reporter Tim Cato; Chicago Cubs reporter Jared Wyllys and more. Huge swaths of the NBA, MLB and NHL do not have a designated Athletic beat writer.
For now, The Athletic’s loss appears to be the San Francisco Standard’s gain. The Bay Area is probably always going to be just fine when it comes to sports and news coverage, but other markets may not be so lucky if these trends continue.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.