DC Trawler

You’ll Miss The New Republic When It’s Gone, Conservatives

Font Size:

Just a few years after lottery winner ex-Facebook executive Chris Hughes bought venerated liberal magazine The New Republic and vowed to transform it into a “vertically integrated digital media company,” and a year after he drove away most of the good writers and editors, he’s now selling the company. (He made the announcement on Medium.com, not his own magazine, because he wanted people to read it.) A lot of teabagging wingnuts are gloating about this, but I think that’s a mistake. The future of the magazine is uncertain, but there’s no question that Hughes conducted a bold experiment in 21st Century journalism. As unsuccessful as his effort was, there’s a lot we can learn from it. Let’s take a look.

(Image courtesy of USV)