Veteran sports media reporter John Ourand is leaving Sports Business Journal at the end of the year to join Puck News, the newsletter-based, business-to-business media startup. Both SBJ and Puck announced the move in separate posts on Monday morning.
Puck celebrated its first foray into sports business with an early sign-up link for Ourand’s newsletter.
SBJ publisher Abe Madkour released a note on the magazine’s website celebrating Ourand’s legacy.
“He was the consummate SBJ reporter and teammate,” Madkour wrote. “He was collaborative, he was tough, he had great sources, he had integrity, fairness and did it the right way. He became the BEST sports media reporter in the world, and he kept wanting to do more.”
Madkour also acknowledged the role Ourand played in SBJ’s growth.
“We will all miss John’s talent, energy, professionalism, humor and unbelievable contributions that have helped SBJ reach the success it has,” Madkour added. “John Ourand is an incredibly talented, kind person who helped us all be better. We wish him the best in the future and know he will continue to thrive and we all will be watching and reading.”
Andrew Marchand, who cohosts The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast with Ourand, stated the show’s status was TBD.
Puck launched in 2021 emphasizing paid newsletters catered to the most powerful executives in Hollywood, Washington, Wall Street and Silicon Valley. In August, the company raised $10 million from venture capital with plans to continue its expansion into digital media and events.
Ourand is a logical hire for Puck. He wrote a newsletter for SBJ for many years and brings an audience of insiders across the television business, sports media, and sports business.
Ourand has not confirmed or commented on the move publicly as of the publication of this article.
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.