Maggie Hendricks
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maggiehendricks.bsky.social
Maggie Hendricks
@maggiehendricks.bsky.social
Sometimes sports journo, sometimes comms pro, always a maker. Love Chicago. Probably making a Taskmaster or Murder, She Wrote joke. I won't answer any questions you can Google. I'm here for conversation, not debate. I mute whining about officials.
Pinned
Hey so I wrote a book! It's a middle-grade book on Angel Reese. It's a book specifically written for libraries and schools, so I will not be hurt if you don't buy it. But your kid may want to check it out at the library!

abdobooks.com/shop/show/19...
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
We gotta come up with a better system than “everything rests on whether these twelve billionnaires are nice”
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Today has been a downer so here’s Sully getting a paper towel roll filled with treats.
February 4, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Hooo boy, so much this. And saying to someone, "I'm sure someone will snap you up right away!" isn't helpful. If you can give specific leads, awesome. Anything else is just wishful thinking. I hate to be this doomer about it, but as I've said, I've been through this so many times.
I know everyone means well with their 'scoop this reporter up immediately' endorsement posts but christ — who's doing the scooping? What's left?

Thinking about our industry this way, like this is a momentary setback and there are ample open roles, obscures the truth about the rot at its core.
February 4, 2026 at 9:51 PM
The most usable pic in the Chicago Tribune sports archives rides again!
February 4, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
Again, if you need further proof this isn’t about money—photojournalists are cash cows if you’re selling photos to Getty/the wires. They pay for themselves!
INBOX: Robert McCartney, who worked for 39 years at The Washington Post, including as a Metro columnist and editor, before retiring in 2021, claims on X that he has heard the Post has laid off *all* its photojournalists.
February 4, 2026 at 9:14 PM
As I've been laid off many times, I have one piece of advice for those who have recently gotten laid off:

Give yourself time to grieve before you hop into job searching and all that, but put a clock on it. Jumping in too quickly can fuck you up, but so can wallowing forever.
February 4, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Goodbye to one of the best hair-havers in Chicago sports history.
Scoring guard Coby White joins the hot Charlotte Hornets at the trade deadline:
February 4, 2026 at 8:10 PM
I have been working on a career change. Perhaps?
February 4, 2026 at 8:06 PM
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For those looking for freelance work in the wake of WaPo layoffs: I'm an editor at large overseeing Ideas & Culture at Bloomberg, including our Books coverage. Find me at [email protected]
February 4, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
UPDATE: four minutes into the first event of the Winter Olympics, there has been a power outage
February 4, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
Do not love how this industry has been shredded and remade into a teetering heap of gig work

Freelancers fighting each other for a dwindling number of scraps, generational talent falling out of the ecosystem entirely, former staffers struggling while billionaires stuff their pockets

A fucking mess
February 4, 2026 at 5:21 PM
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Sports coverage is more than scores. It’s about the people, politics and cultural factors that drive it. Sports journalism adds vivid color and context to these dynamics. Without it, every sports fan suffers. Some of the best sports journalism all-time came from WaPo. Inexcusable loss.
A staggering statement from former Washington Post editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world's greatest news organizations."
February 4, 2026 at 4:30 PM
This is going to be the first Olympics in 20 years I don't cover (feels pretty good, tbh) so here's a bunch of people you should follow for Olympic coverage. I'm sure I'll throw out some random posts about the Olympics, but that's about it.
In addition to the daily podcast, I will be posting my daily viewing guides here.

Plus, I will be sharing a ton of SI’s best Olympics coverage, along with stuff from other outlets.

And I’ve added a bunch of people to my Olympics starter pack: go.bsky.app/H39APXB
February 4, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
Eternally Chicago-faced
How long have Chicagoans looked like Chicagoans?
February 4, 2026 at 2:37 PM
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If I had limitless money I would buy things and then make them noticeably better, mainly so people would praise me for it. I think it would be really easy to avoid making things noticeably worse, if I had limitless money
February 4, 2026 at 2:31 PM
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And the great unifying thread is always — ALWAYS — that the people in charge of figuring out how to make money never get held accountable for being bad at math and worse at business
February 4, 2026 at 2:20 PM
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it goes without saying but I don't think the 3rd richest person on the planet is destroying the prestige newspaper he bought because of the finances of the newspaper business
February 4, 2026 at 2:17 PM
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Lindsey says it better here:

bsky.app/profile/lind...
sports coverage is not about box scores anymore. it's about power and politics and corruption and sovereign wealth and real estate and the use of taxpayer money and the most publicized labor disputes in the country and yes, sometimes about ball go in hoop
WaPo's Matt Murray told staff the paper is shuttering sports, moving remaining staff to features, shrinking foreign coverage, restructuring metro, closing books coverage, suspending Post Reports podcast

“Whole company now waiting for a live or die email” one staffer said

More in tonight’s Status
February 4, 2026 at 2:16 PM
There are so many top tier journalists from the WaPo that I think they could do it, but I'm also not mad at anyone who says f this industry after this.
I've told the Post Sports folks on bluesky that I'd happily pay twice the full Post subscription fee for a Defector-style site staffed by alums from Post Sports. Was the best sports section for many years, and I miss it terribly. Hopefully this frees them to do something like that
February 4, 2026 at 2:14 PM
SHUTTERING SPORTS?
WaPo's Matt Murray told staff the paper is shuttering sports, moving remaining staff to features, shrinking foreign coverage, restructuring metro, closing books coverage, suspending Post Reports podcast

“Whole company now waiting for a live or die email” one staffer said

More in tonight’s Status
February 4, 2026 at 2:10 PM
Keir Starmer is going to face more consequences for Epstein than Trump. It’s insane.
BREAKING: “Can the PM tell us did the official security vetting he received mention Mandelson’s ongoing relationship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein?”

“Yes it did” Keir Starmer
PM confirms he was aware of Mandelson's ongoing friendship with Epstein before he was appointed Ambassador
February 4, 2026 at 1:14 PM
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
olympic curling starts today, that’s how they become rings
Two more days until the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympiad!
February 4, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
you don't say? at some point we're going to acknowledge what every study ever on this subject has said, right? right? www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Trans athletes may not have fitness advantage in women’s sport, landmark study finds
Findings suggest physical performance in trans women converges toward that of cis women over time
www.independent.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Maggie Hendricks
I used to think gaining rights was like stepping on the rungs of a ladder, progress constantly ascending to something better. Smarter people told me it’s like swimming against a current. The moment you stop moving forward, the current drags you back.
February 2, 2026 at 7:36 PM