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Go Home Home News: A Letter to TNR Readers from Chris Hughes

MARCH 9, 2012

Home News: A Letter to TNR Readers from Chris Hughes

BY TNR STAFF

To the Readers of The New Republic:

Nearly 100 years ago, the founding editors of The New Republic wrote these words to introduce their inaugural issue:

The New Republic is frankly an experiment. It is an attempt to find national audience for a journal of interpretation and opinion. Many people believe that such a journal is out of place in America; that if a periodical is to be popular, it must first of all be entertaining, or that if it is to be serious, it must be detached and select.

Yet when the plan of The New Republic was being discussed it received spontaneous welcome from people in all parts of the country. They differed in theories and programmes; but they agreed that if The New Republic could bring sufficient enlightenment to the problems of the nation and sufficient sympathy to its complexities, it would service all those who feel the challenge of our time.

A century later, people are once again skeptical that quality journalism can flourish. Technology’s disruption of traditional forms of media has led many to believe that independent, thoughtful media institutions are on the decline and that there are not enough readers to support serious reporting and analysis.

But in 1914 the founders of The New Republic chose to strike out and pursue their vision in spite of the prevailing opinions of their time. They saw a need for a magazine of informed opinion and insightful, thorough reporting.

I share their vision. It seems that today too many media institutions chase superficial metrics of online virality at the expense of investing in rigorous reporting and analysis of the most important stories of our time. When few people are investing in media institutions with such bold aims as “enlightenment to the problems of the nation,” I believe we must.

Many of us get our news from social networks, blogs, and daily aggregators. The web has introduced a competitive, and some might argue hostile, landscape for long, in-depth, resource-intensive journalism. But as we’ve seen with the rise of tablets and mobile reading devices, it is an ever-shifting landscape—one that I believe now offers opportunities to reinvigorate the forms of journalism that examine the challenges of our time in all their complexity. Although the method of delivery of important ideas has undergone drastic change over the past 15 years, the hunger for them has not dissipated.

In the next era of The New Republic, we will aggressively adapt to the newest information technologies without sacrificing our commitment to serious journalism. We will look to tell the most important stories in politics and the arts and provide the type of rigorous analysis that The New Republic has been known for. We will ask pressing questions of our leaders, share groundbreaking new ideas, and shed new light on the state of politics and culture.

The New Republic has been and will remain a journal of progressive values, but it will above all aim to appeal to independent thinkers on the left and the right who search for fresh ideas and a deeper understanding of the challenges our world faces.

As the founding editors reminded their readers in 1914, the success of this endeavor ultimately depends on the public support of readers in search of “sound and disinterested thinking.” As long as there are readers who continue to crave that kind of journalism, we will aspire to serve them.

Chris Hughes

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, The New Republic

 

Throughout TNR’s history, this publication’s animating ideal has been a belief in the value of high-minded magazine journalism: analysis, storytelling, criticism, and crusading that is witty, intelligent, moving, serious, and, perhaps above all, immensely fun to read. It’s the reason that generations of readers have fallen in love with the magazine, and the reason that the people who work here are so passionate about what we do. When I became the editor of TNR in late 2010, I said that I wanted to double-down on this ideal of beautifully crafted journalism. At a time when everyone else was writing quicker and shorter, or emphasizing aggregation, I wanted us to be the publication that, more than any other, fought for an idealistic vision of what magazine journalism can and should be. And, with every print issue that my amazing colleagues and I work on, with every edition of our daily web magazine that we put out, this is what we have been trying to do.

When I first met Chris in November of last year, I was immediately struck by how much he believed in this kind of journalism. About halfway through our lunch, it was clear to me that this was someone who should be involved with TNR. We continued to talk, and a few weeks later, I introduced him to Larry Grafstein, the chairman of our ownership group, who felt the same way. The end result is the announcement you are reading now.

For all of us at TNR—and, really, for anyone who believes in the enduring value of intellectual magazine journalism—this is a wonderful day. My colleagues and I can’t wait to work with Chris to bring the vision of magazine journalism we all share to more and more readers, and to continue the process of figuring out how this kind of journalism can thrive in the age of the Internet and the iPad. It’s a big challenge, but it’s the mission we’ve set for ourselves. And we couldn’t be more excited to pursue that mission with Chris.

Richard Just

Editor, The New Republic

 

We are delighted to welcome Chris Hughes to the top of The New Republic masthead. As we approach the centennial year of this remarkable institution, we believe that he will bring extraordinary talent and commitment to the ideas and causes we value. He not only has a track record of success but also possesses a keen appreciation of our calling. With Chris’s leadership TNR will pursue its longstanding, ongoing mission of helping to define liberalism while contributing to the American project. You will all enjoy getting to know him and you will learn, as we have, that he is a special individual.

TNR has been fortunate over the decades to have enjoyed superb stewardship. I would personally like to thank Bill Ackman, Michael Alter, Gerry Cardinale, Allen Chin, John Driscoll, Gary Mueller, Mike Rancilio, Eric Schwartz, and Charles Stevenson for their counsel and support these last few years. While the outstanding work you see comes from the splendid editorial staff led by Richard Just and Leon Wieseltier, these Advisory Board members have shepherded TNR through the toughest media environment in memory and enabled it to emerge stronger than ever.

Of course, as we usher in an exciting new era we take a moment to express our collective gratitude to Martin Peretz, who has been and will continue to be a legendary force in American letters and, more than that, a wonderful friend. Under his guidance TNR has been left more often than right and right more often than wrong. Marty has also been a selfless mentor to generations of leading writers and editors. Si monumentum requiris, circumspice.

Laurence Grafstein

Chairman, TNR Advisory Board

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

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105 comments

I have no idea what this really means, but it seems to me this guy should have just written something like: "Hey - I bought The New Republic. It's mine now. Just thought you'd want to know that. Also, journalism, ipads, and 1914 - xoxo, Chris."

- NR851651

March 9, 2012 at 12:37am

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By BRIAN STELTER and MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED The newest owner of The New Republic magazine is Chris Hughes, a new-media guru who co-founded Facebook and helped to run the online organizing machine for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Mr. Hughes’s purchase of a majority stake in the magazine will be announced on Friday, once again remaking the masthead of the nearly century-old magazine that helped define modern American liberalism. His focus, he said in an interview in advance of the announcement, will be on distributing the magazine’s long-form journalism through tablet computers like the iPad. Though he does not intend to end the printed publication, “five to 10 years from now, if not sooner, the vast majority of The New Republic readers are likely to be reading it on a tablet,” he said. Mr. Hughes, 28, will become publisher and the editor in chief of the magazine, and Richard Just will remain the editor. Martin Peretz, who was editor in chief from 1975 until 2010, when his title was changed to editor in chief emeritus, will become a member of the magazine’s advisory board. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Mr. Hughes said he was motivated by an interest in “the future of high-quality long-form journalism” and by an instinct that such journalism was a natural fit for tablets. He said he would “expand the amount of rigorous reporting and solid analysis” that the magazine produces. For Mr. Just, that means an opportunity to hire more writers and editors — an important step for a publication with a total head count of 29. “It’s been a long time. It’s been years” since total head count increased, he said. The influence of The New Republic has often outstripped its small staff and its small circulation (around 50,000). Founded in 1914 by the political journalist Walter Lippmann, it has long been a part of the liberal movement, counting presidents as readers, including John F. Kennedy, and luminaries as writers, including George Orwell, Virginia Wolff and Philip Roth. Under Mr. Peretz’s editorship and ownership, the magazine has passionately supported Israel and drawn criticism at times for its pro-war stances. The magazine’s editorials supported the Iraq War in 2003 and later expressed deep regret for doing so. In recent years, The New Republic has reduced its publication schedule to biweekly from weekly and redesigned its once-staid pages in an effort to modernize its look. It has also sought to find a successful digital strategy, including charging readers to access some parts of its Web site and by introducing an iPad app. Mr. Hughes said he expected to “revamp the existing iPad and mobile applications so that they’re clearly an investment for the enterprise.” The magazine is currently owned by a consortium led by Laurence Grafstein, a longtime media banker. Others in the group include the hedge fund manager William A. Ackman and the real estate developer Michael Alter. The investor group teamed up with Mr. Peretz in 2009 to buy The New Republic back from CanWest Global Communications, a Canadian publisher. The consortium started to contemplate selling the magazine several months ago. At the time, people briefed on the sale process said the owners wanted to find a partner that could help invest in the magazine’s digital transformation, including developing a more robust strategy for social networking and mobile applications. Potential partners who had early conversations about the magazine included Jared C. Kushner, the owner of The New York Observer; Thomson Reuters; Yahoo; and Bloomberg L.P. Mr. Hughes was identified as a potential buyer in January by The Huffington Post. Mr. Hughes, who was a roommate of Mark Zuckerberg’s at Harvard and who ran publicity for Facebook at its outset, quit the company in 2007 and joined Mr. Obama’s campaign, where he ran a social network for the candidate’s supporters. He later founded Jumo, an online hub for charities, which merged less than a year later with GOOD, a publishing company that promotes social action. Mr. Hughes said he would continue to advise GOOD, but The New Republic would be his priority. He will continue to reside in the Hudson River Valley of New York but will visit the magazine’s office in Washington often. Mr. Just said that Mr. Hughes “has assured me that I’m going to continue to run the editorial side of the magazine.” Asked how he would turn a profit for the money-losing magazine, Mr. Hughes said, “Profit per se is not my motive. The reason I’m getting involved here is that I believe in the type of vigorous contextual journalism that we — we in general as a society — need.” He added that he hoped the magazine could be profitable. “But I’m investing and taking control of The New Republic because of my belief in its mission, not to make it the next Facebook,” he said.

- basman

March 9, 2012 at 1:15am

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By BRIAN STELTER and MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED The newest owner of The New Republic magazine is Chris Hughes, a new-media guru who co-founded Facebook and helped to run the online organizing machine for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Mr. Hughes’s purchase of a majority stake in the magazine will be announced on Friday, once again remaking the masthead of the nearly century-old magazine that helped define modern American liberalism. His focus, he said in an interview in advance of the announcement, will be on distributing the magazine’s long-form journalism through tablet computers like the iPad. Though he does not intend to end the printed publication, “five to 10 years from now, if not sooner, the vast majority of The New Republic readers are likely to be reading it on a tablet,” he said. Mr. Hughes, 28, will become publisher and the editor in chief of the magazine, and Richard Just will remain the editor. Martin Peretz, who was editor in chief from 1975 until 2010, when his title was changed to editor in chief emeritus, will become a member of the magazine’s advisory board. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Mr. Hughes said he was motivated by an interest in “the future of high-quality long-form journalism” and by an instinct that such journalism was a natural fit for tablets. He said he would “expand the amount of rigorous reporting and solid analysis” that the magazine produces. For Mr. Just, that means an opportunity to hire more writers and editors — an important step for a publication with a total head count of 29. “It’s been a long time. It’s been years” since total head count increased, he said. The influence of The New Republic has often outstripped its small staff and its small circulation (around 50,000). Founded in 1914 by the political journalist Walter Lippmann, it has long been a part of the liberal movement, counting presidents as readers, including John F. Kennedy, and luminaries as writers, including George Orwell, Virginia Wolff and Philip Roth. Under Mr. Peretz’s editorship and ownership, the magazine has passionately supported Israel and drawn criticism at times for its pro-war stances. The magazine’s editorials supported the Iraq War in 2003 and later expressed deep regret for doing so. In recent years, The New Republic has reduced its publication schedule to biweekly from weekly and redesigned its once-staid pages in an effort to modernize its look. It has also sought to find a successful digital strategy, including charging readers to access some parts of its Web site and by introducing an iPad app. Mr. Hughes said he expected to “revamp the existing iPad and mobile applications so that they’re clearly an investment for the enterprise.” The magazine is currently owned by a consortium led by Laurence Grafstein, a longtime media banker. Others in the group include the hedge fund manager William A. Ackman and the real estate developer Michael Alter. The investor group teamed up with Mr. Peretz in 2009 to buy The New Republic back from CanWest Global Communications, a Canadian publisher. The consortium started to contemplate selling the magazine several months ago. At the time, people briefed on the sale process said the owners wanted to find a partner that could help invest in the magazine’s digital transformation, including developing a more robust strategy for social networking and mobile applications. Potential partners who had early conversations about the magazine included Jared C. Kushner, the owner of The New York Observer; Thomson Reuters; Yahoo; and Bloomberg L.P. Mr. Hughes was identified as a potential buyer in January by The Huffington Post. Mr. Hughes, who was a roommate of Mark Zuckerberg’s at Harvard and who ran publicity for Facebook at its outset, quit the company in 2007 and joined Mr. Obama’s campaign, where he ran a social network for the candidate’s supporters. He later founded Jumo, an online hub for charities, which merged less than a year later with GOOD, a publishing company that promotes social action. Mr. Hughes said he would continue to advise GOOD, but The New Republic would be his priority. He will continue to reside in the Hudson River Valley of New York but will visit the magazine’s office in Washington often. Mr. Just said that Mr. Hughes “has assured me that I’m going to continue to run the editorial side of the magazine.” Asked how he would turn a profit for the money-losing magazine, Mr. Hughes said, “Profit per se is not my motive. The reason I’m getting involved here is that I believe in the type of vigorous contextual journalism that we — we in general as a society — need.” He added that he hoped the magazine could be profitable. “But I’m investing and taking control of The New Republic because of my belief in its mission, not to make it the next Facebook,” he said.

- basman

March 9, 2012 at 1:15am

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By BRIAN STELTER and MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED The newest owner of The New Republic magazine is Chris Hughes, a new-media guru who co-founded Facebook and helped to run the online organizing machine for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Mr. Hughes’s purchase of a majority stake in the magazine will be announced on Friday, once again remaking the masthead of the nearly century-old magazine that helped define modern American liberalism. His focus, he said in an interview in advance of the announcement, will be on distributing the magazine’s long-form journalism through tablet computers like the iPad. Though he does not intend to end the printed publication, “five to 10 years from now, if not sooner, the vast majority of The New Republic readers are likely to be reading it on a tablet,” he said. Mr. Hughes, 28, will become publisher and the editor in chief of the magazine, and Richard Just will remain the editor. Martin Peretz, who was editor in chief from 1975 until 2010, when his title was changed to editor in chief emeritus, will become a member of the magazine’s advisory board. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. Mr. Hughes said he was motivated by an interest in “the future of high-quality long-form journalism” and by an instinct that such journalism was a natural fit for tablets. He said he would “expand the amount of rigorous reporting and solid analysis” that the magazine produces. For Mr. Just, that means an opportunity to hire more writers and editors — an important step for a publication with a total head count of 29. “It’s been a long time. It’s been years” since total head count increased, he said. The influence of The New Republic has often outstripped its small staff and its small circulation (around 50,000). Founded in 1914 by the political journalist Walter Lippmann, it has long been a part of the liberal movement, counting presidents as readers, including John F. Kennedy, and luminaries as writers, including George Orwell, Virginia Wolff and Philip Roth. Under Mr. Peretz’s editorship and ownership, the magazine has passionately supported Israel and drawn criticism at times for its pro-war stances. The magazine’s editorials supported the Iraq War in 2003 and later expressed deep regret for doing so. In recent years, The New Republic has reduced its publication schedule to biweekly from weekly and redesigned its once-staid pages in an effort to modernize its look. It has also sought to find a successful digital strategy, including charging readers to access some parts of its Web site and by introducing an iPad app. Mr. Hughes said he expected to “revamp the existing iPad and mobile applications so that they’re clearly an investment for the enterprise.” The magazine is currently owned by a consortium led by Laurence Grafstein, a longtime media banker. Others in the group include the hedge fund manager William A. Ackman and the real estate developer Michael Alter. The investor group teamed up with Mr. Peretz in 2009 to buy The New Republic back from CanWest Global Communications, a Canadian publisher. The consortium started to contemplate selling the magazine several months ago. At the time, people briefed on the sale process said the owners wanted to find a partner that could help invest in the magazine’s digital transformation, including developing a more robust strategy for social networking and mobile applications. Potential partners who had early conversations about the magazine included Jared C. Kushner, the owner of The New York Observer; Thomson Reuters; Yahoo; and Bloomberg L.P. Mr. Hughes was identified as a potential buyer in January by The Huffington Post. Mr. Hughes, who was a roommate of Mark Zuckerberg’s at Harvard and who ran publicity for Facebook at its outset, quit the company in 2007 and joined Mr. Obama’s campaign, where he ran a social network for the candidate’s supporters. He later founded Jumo, an online hub for charities, which merged less than a year later with GOOD, a publishing company that promotes social action. Mr. Hughes said he would continue to advise GOOD, but The New Republic would be his priority. He will continue to reside in the Hudson River Valley of New York but will visit the magazine’s office in Washington often. Mr. Just said that Mr. Hughes “has assured me that I’m going to continue to run the editorial side of the magazine.” Asked how he would turn a profit for the money-losing magazine, Mr. Hughes said, “Profit per se is not my motive. The reason I’m getting involved here is that I believe in the type of vigorous contextual journalism that we — we in general as a society — need.” He added that he hoped the magazine could be profitable. “But I’m investing and taking control of The New Republic because of my belief in its mission, not to make it the next Facebook,” he said.

- basman

March 9, 2012 at 1:15am

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Sorry.

- basman

March 9, 2012 at 1:16am

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I am a skeptical optimist, and that's the filter through which I view this change. It is also why I have loved TNR for years. There is a real challenge in bringing any serious discussions of issues online that no one has seemed to be able to capture. TNR has a solid history of publishing thoughtful and diverse views, which brings along the possibility of playing a serious role in trying to solve this problem. Hopefully this change will push TNR to work more aggressively in this direction. It will take a lot of creative insight and a respect for the history of the institution. Based on his statements and track record I don't think TNR could find anyone better than Chris. Welcome, and I wish you the best of luck. (p.s. the tech side of things has gotten a bit better in the last couple years, but it could still use another look).

- Attrill

March 9, 2012 at 4:02am

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Hopefully under new leadership the magazine will give voice to truly Progressive policies as it once did-- and has not for about a decade.... No more support of pre-emptive wars of choice, baseed on minimal threats to the the US as opposed to perceived threats to Israel. No more minimal critiques of inadequate reforms of health care, financial reform, Keynesian stimuli etc, on the rationale that the other side would make it even worse. On such grounds one supports Benito over Adolph or James Buchanan over Jeff Davis--and never looks for better alternate choices, even if at first threy seem unlikely to win. Many Progressive policies are actually supported by a majority of Americans--- and other might well, if given media and politicians that openly support them. But no such policies will ever become law without progressive media and politicians. The latter two have been sorely lacking for over a decade,

- drofnats1

March 9, 2012 at 4:32am

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As long as we still get at least 1000 words per month from Leon Wieseltier, I'm happy. The exact future of Martin Peretz's contributions here is unclear at the moment. I shall reserve my well-wishing & expressions of gratitude for him until he publishes his own thoughts on this new ownership situation. Best of luck to the new guy. Sincerely, a reader who doesn't own a tablet but has 3 iPhones

- Konstantin

March 9, 2012 at 4:42am

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Welcome Chris, so pleased that you bought this important magazine - look really forward to what's next. Thank you again, JILL

- WandreyCer

March 9, 2012 at 5:38am

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Good luck. It's an important mission, now more than ever. I think we're experiencing, or about to experience, a shakeout in the news industry. Now more than ever amid all the chatter, blogs, twitter, talking heads, etc., informed voices with definitive points of view are needed and, I think, wanted. (At least, this is what I tell my journalist husband.) The novelty of speed has worn off and I, for one, am weary of all the noise. The challenge, as you note, is method of delivery. I'm a print person and still don't own a tablet. I'm skeptical they're a product that's here to stay. But whatever you can do to make long-from journalism profitable again, that's not only money for you, but a saving grace for society. The problem is not the content of traditional newspapers and magazines, it's that the business model for delivering that information is broken.

- Claris

March 9, 2012 at 6:56am

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Apps are not only the future, but the present. Anybody who owns an ipad, as I do, will know what I mean. With apps come walls, maybe only in the imagination, but walls nevertheless. Of course, Mr. Hughes would say the opposite, being an owner of Facebook. The difference is that everybody is "on" facebook (though not me); Mr. Hughes might say it is the uber-democratic communication medium. Maybe he acquired TNR because he is committed to the kind of progressive journalism it is known for. I hope so. The alternative, to use TNR as a platform to make an app dominated world of journalism more like Facebook, is too horrible to even consider; in opinion journalism, we don't need an uber-democratic TNR, we need strong voices for progressivism.

- rayward

March 9, 2012 at 7:14am

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Hoping for the best, meaning that I hope we won't be hearing any more from Mr Peretz. May he enjoy his retirement in peace. Neil

- purcellneil@aol.com

March 9, 2012 at 7:30am

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In reading the open letter, I'm thrilled that the new owner mentioned one of the very first articles that dealt with the spirit and purpose of what TNR is all about. A good, aggressive plan to capitalize on other media platforms while keeping the original intent of the founders of this great publication, is what is needed to keep TNR viable and available to others for years to come.

- Sgregory00

March 9, 2012 at 7:43am

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Having been an on and off again subscriber since 1962 when I received a subscription for my Bar Mitzvah, I say: Good luck and best wishes to Chris Hughes. My two cents on ways forward: 1. Right now you have five bloggers, all male--you need some regular women writers/bloggers on daily visible staff. 2. To keep people hitting the web page, your bloggers need to update/comment more times per day. Chait could do it and I know the current crew could do it if it were made a priority. Its just the way things are now.

- bufatutu

March 9, 2012 at 7:43am

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first off hire back Chris Orr and Michelle. Second, don't try to turn this into a facebook or dumb it down to increase circulation. If I want bubblegum journalism I can always read the Huffingtonpost.

- blackton

March 9, 2012 at 8:07am

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I have read The New Republic for a number of years. What was once science fiction, has become reality. I can't help wondering if the human race is going to survive this century. Ray Kurzweill argues that in a few decades the human race will enter the technological singularity, when the human race merges with artificial intelligence to become a new kind of creature unrecognizable to us. I have argued, that the readership of TNR has become older and older, and the magazine has not fully adapted to this changing world, though the addition of the online discussion forum seemed like a step in such a direction From this article, it looks to me that the adaptation is continuing.This year I purchased a gift subscription to National Geographic, Jr. for my 8-year-old non genetic granddaughter, AE, whom I consider my science fiction grandchild in a technological and cultural sense. Two sisters died before she could be born because her birth mother was allergic to her own children; medical technology figured out how to keep AE alive so she could be safely born. That's the technology. She is growing up considering it perfectly normal to have two mommies (her birth mother, and my daughter, a co-mom who can't have children because of a childhood illness) and two daddies (AE's sperm donor and his partner). That's the cultural science fiction. I argue that TNR should start a TNR Jr. Just as National Geographic, Jr. is a little more cheerful and a little less grim than the adult counterpart, I would like to see a corresponding magazine for my granddaughter to read and perhaps write for, to help her prepare for an unimaginably changing world. If the new publisher can launch such a publication while I am still alive, I pledge myself to buy one of the first subscriptions for it to my granddaughter. I am going to suggest to her mommies that AE watch and review The Lorax, a movie adaption of Dr. Seuss' parable about saving the ecology and environment of the world we live in from our human tendency to exploit and destroy it. When I was a child about the age AE is now, my parents took me to see The Five Thousand Fingers of Dr. T an early movie based on a Dr. Seuss story. AE's mommies are committed to her only watching and reading wholesome, optimistic materials. One of her favorite movies growing up was The Grinch, a movie that promotes compassion and kindness for children. If AE sees The Lorax, and if she is willing to write a review of it, and if TNR under its new publisher is willing to start an edition of the magazine, what a great article this would be for the inaugural edition. So welcome and congratulations, Chris! What do you think about my modest proposal? Open to the idea? Email me at eman_modnar@yahoo.com if you are.

- skahn

March 9, 2012 at 8:07am

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I too am optimistic. I love it when rich, smart guys with an interest in high-minded journalism do good for the world by helping keep high-minded journalism afloat. Go for it, Mr. Hughes!

- Mikelawyr22

March 9, 2012 at 8:49am

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Looks like soon I will have to cancel my subscription to TNR. Chris Hughes an ex- "organizer" for anti- Semite Obama smells to high heaven. I will have the great pleasure of voting for anyone, no matter who to replace anti- Semite Obama. No one can be as bad for the USA, Israel and the Jews in general as anti- Semite Obama. I know I will get sick to my stomach voting for a Republican but this has to be done to prevent four more years of this hateful racist Obama.

- Poupic

March 9, 2012 at 8:52am

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Poupic, You recite "anti-Semite Obama" like a mantra, but repetition does not make it true. I'm reminded of David Remnick's piece in this week's New Yorker (another home of excellent long-form journalism): "The current Administration has coöperated with Israeli intelligence to an unprecedented extent and has led a crippling sanctions effort against Iran, yet Netanyahu, who visits Washington this week, has shown imperious disdain for Barack Obama. In fact, the President is a philo-Semite, whose earliest political supporters were Chicago Jews: Abner Mikva, Newton and Martha Minow, Bettylu Saltzman, David Axelrod. He was close to a rabbi on the South Side, the late Arnold Jacob Wolf. But to Netanyahu these men and women are the wrong kind of Jew. Wolf, for example, had worked for Abraham Joshua Heschel, the rabbi most closely associated with the civil-rights movement and other social-justice causes. Wolf brought Martin Luther King, Jr., to speak in his synagogue, marched in Selma, and, in 1973, helped found Breira (Alternative), one of the first American Jewish groups to endorse a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

- deisner

March 9, 2012 at 9:24am

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Chris Hughes project of returning to long-form journalism and doing-so within the tablet/kindle/ipad space is welcome. Substance meet medium. Welcome. --bh

- blackhat

March 9, 2012 at 9:39am

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Welcome! One, I am happy that someone wanted to buy tnr because frankly, I thought that it was not going to make its 100th birthday. Two, I don't know much about you but from what I have read, it appears that you can finally bring this magazine into the 21st Century and perhaps lower the age demographic among the readership. Last, please thank Mr. Peretz for his tenure and contributions to the magazine. His era was a good fit for his time and place. Give him a watch, perhaps a dolls of Izzy Stone, George Soros, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, and Barack Obama all with "kick me" signs and then please, please please, send him on his merry way. I know so many people who won't go back to tnr until Mr. Peretz, in Presleyesque fashion, leaves the building. Cheerio, KG

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 9:52am

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I wish the entire TNR team the best during this transition and the future. My 2 cents: Hopefully Facebook registration will not be required for new initiatives -- lots of us still avoid it (no offense)! And, tho as a long-time Slate lover it pains me to say it, please consider that magazine's current iteration an example of what not to do when "updating." Oh, and can you *please* get Scocca?

- Wonderland

March 9, 2012 at 9:56am

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All I ask is that you don't turn this publication into The Huffington Post. I come here to get away from The Huffington Post.

- maxhencke

March 9, 2012 at 10:12am

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Chris - I add my warm welcome to all those above and my thanks for investing your passion and treasure in keeping this lively experiment alive. I would heartily second bufatutu's sage advice to: 1) get a female blogger (Michelle Cottle?) and 2) get your bloggers to increase the frequency of their daily output. With best wishes for every success, Jack Rosenblum

- JackR

March 9, 2012 at 10:26am

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JackR and Blackton, I concur. I want Michelle Cottle back. Puh-LEASE don't Facebook the readers. I like gadgets, but I'll never buy an iPad or a smart phone. I get enough info overload through my 3 PC's. I like to sit back and chew on information once and a while, not have it stream through my head 24/7--especially if it's cotton-candy fluff like in that stupid ad: "That's so twenty-eight seconds ago!" And how about a literate sports blogger? Sports are a great mirror of our culture. Thank you for keeping TNR alive. Let's hope it stays well.

- magboy47.

March 9, 2012 at 11:21am

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Adding on to JackR, yes, more female staffers - not only bringing back Michelle Cottle but Chris Orr too - and how about bringing some diversity to the masthead? Thanks, KG

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 11:48am

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Poupic, don't let the door hit your bigoted ass on the way out.

- zardoz67

March 9, 2012 at 11:48am

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Welcome Chris. Heard you on NPR this morning - you said all the right things, and you said them well. I must echo the sentiment: PLEASE don't dumb this down into another HuffPost. Secondly, though I welcome the investment in a rich tablet experience, it would be nice if the app wasn't another $19 subscription over and above the print subscription. (hopefully these two requests are not mutually exclusive). Randy

- frb631

March 9, 2012 at 11:53am

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First off, go explain to Tim Noah what Facebook is and then tell him to "friend" Ed Schultz. Best of luck to the new ownership and management and yes, bring back Michelle!

- SteveJudd

March 9, 2012 at 11:55am

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Please, bring back David Rieff. He was a vital counter to grandiose narratives of progress and technophilic hubris.

- STTaylor

March 9, 2012 at 12:00pm

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Congratulations, Mr. Hughes. I've never heard of you, but you've never heard of me either. The magazine has long been a part of my reading diet, and you have many talented writers and thinkers. I think in recent years under your long-time predecessor as publisher and editor in chief (particularly in his byline pieces) the identity of the "new republic" in lower case has become ambiguous: Often it has seemed that Mr. Peretz was far more interested in the "new republic" of Israel than in the United States. There are many areas and occasions when the interests of the two converge and even become indistinguishable. I hope you will continue to report on those areas and occasions, while giving attention as well to areas and occasions in which "our" new republic has different and even conflicting interests from Israel. Good luck.

- johnIngle

March 9, 2012 at 12:27pm

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Best wishes to Chris Hughes and the rest of the TNR team. Please keep Marty Peretz on. He's part of the distinctive local color that keeps TNR from being a liberal-left me-too publication. I like Chris Leinberger's urban policy perspectives; they should be featured more prominently.

- amidut

March 9, 2012 at 12:36pm

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"Looks like soon I will have to cancel my subscription to TNR. Chris Hughes an ex- "organizer" for anti- Semite Obama smells to high heaven." It looks like the Chris Hughes era of TNR is getting off on the right foot already! I'm waiting for cancellation messages from bulbman, rationale, noga and the CHOOCH in due course. Oh, happy day! On a more serious note, I do sincerely hope that Chris Orr and Michelle Cottle can be brought back into TNR's pages. And hopefully a speedy, peaceful retirement for Marty Peretz.

- wildboy

March 9, 2012 at 1:27pm

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I'll reserve my comments till after the first issue is published by the new owners. If TNR becomes another NY York Times r NY Review of books I suspect that the quality of its reviews and cultural issues will go down. I hope that Leon Wieseltier's article on books wasn 't his goodbye essay.

- arnon1

March 9, 2012 at 1:32pm

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Wildboy why can you not be honest for once. You do not care what happens to Marty as long as he is not challenging your received ideas. I suspect that TNR will join BIG media soon. It is inevitable. IUt is all about market shares also known as profit.

- arnon1

March 9, 2012 at 1:38pm

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Chris, Since we're all on a roll here--except Mr. Poupic--let me add my voice to those asking that Facebook not be the exclusive gateway for commenting. Not being enamored of Facebook is not a function of lack of media savvy, but more about being contrarian and not a follower. I actually have a Facebook account, but only because it is required to comment on several sites where I like to comment. That is its only function for me--and I don't like it. Getting "Friend" requests that I, as a matter of personal philosophy never respond to, from old girl friends, elementary school classmates, former employees, political enemies who wish to be buddies, etc. is not my cup of tea. Thanks.

- bufatutu

March 9, 2012 at 1:51pm

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Re: Leon W. I have not been a big fan of his, primarily because of his precious temperament. However, I find that I value most of his columns and his insights are always measured, thoughtful, and oft times, challenging. I wouldn't want the insufferable squirt to be my neighbor but I want him to stay at tnr. Additionally, the man is obviously an expert leader and his executive management of tnr's Books & Arts section is, for me, unarguably brilliant. Keep him on! tnr has always touted itself to be a heterodox publication, and on political issues, I concur. On the subject of Israel, it has hardly been heterodox and I think that this stasis has, over the years, narrowly boxed the magazine into a self imposed solipsism. I would like to see a divergent debate on the Middle East and Israel/US relations in particular that truly lives up to tnr's self proclaimed heterodox creds.

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 1:53pm

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btw, I love facebook and my facebook page has a veritable platoon of tnr alums, and we have wonderful "heterodox" discussions on all kinds of issues. Bring on the facebook overlay. I love it.

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 1:55pm

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"Wildboy why can you not be honest for once. You do not care what happens to Marty as long as he is not challenging your received ideas." Actually, Noga, I do care about Marty in that I hope he finds some peace and quiet. Unless everything you have read and heard about his life these past several years is fiction, he has had a rough go of it and his writing and, frankly, the quality of his thinking has suffered as a result. What were once fiercely held and challenging opinions have curdled into churlishness and petty score-settling with persons both remote (Obama, Catherine Ashton) and near (Chris Orr, John Judis). I admit that I am drawn to argue with his opinios, but it's probably the same way I am drawn to look at the scene of a car wreck -- more often then not, a car wreck purposefully initiated by Marty. As for TNR being a commercial enterprise, it always has been and should be one. I don't need it to become some sort of quasi-philanthropic enterprise. Just don't dumb it down to the level of Huffington Post, with endless columns by celebrity nitwits or PR pieces from various civic or economic groups masquerading as articles.

- wildboy

March 9, 2012 at 2:02pm

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I will say briefly that I hope that the free speech and unmoderated style of TNR continues, even as the magazine inevitably changes and evolves. I also hope that TNR will pursue my suggestion of a gentle and slightly toned down TNR, Jr. will be pursued for younger readers such as my granddaughter.

- skahn

March 9, 2012 at 2:06pm

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I heard the news of Mr. Hughes' takeover of TNR with some trepidation this morning, but am reserving judgement until I see the effects. As a long-time subscriber (30+ years), and a longer-time reader (my late father, blessed be his memory, subscribed since the early 50s, and i've been reading it since the early 60s), i can only say that I hope Mr. Hughes maintains TNR's intellect, its progresssive-left leanings, and its unabashed support for and willingness to argue on behalf of Israel, while never losing sight of its responsibility for developing and presenting fact-based opinion, and a lively review of the arts. I second Magboy's suggestion about a literate sports blogger, too.

- bonsaibush

March 9, 2012 at 2:44pm

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(Inside the mind of Chris Hughes having read the foregoing 40 posts)---"Oh, my God...what the hell have I done? I thought Leon Wieseltier played bass for The Decembrists. He writes for The New Republic? And who the heck is Catherine Ashton? A "heterodox publication"? Is that, like, porn or something? Oh, my God..." Welcome to The New Republic, Mr. Hughes, et al.!

- SteveJudd

March 9, 2012 at 2:52pm

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tnr had a pretty good sports blogger in Spencer Ackerman but I heard a rumor that he threatened to do something um, inappropriate, to FFoer's skull and that was that. I do think a good sports blogger is a must. I thoroughly enjoyed those baseball/basketball forums.

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 3:03pm

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Sampling of comments from Slate readers re: Chris Hughes' purchase of TNR: dvslty The insufferable meets the unreadable 18 Minutes Ago from slate.com · Reply · Like · Flag Guest I don't know anything about this Hughes guy, but what possible harm could he do to our beloved, ahem, "liberal" New Republic at this point? More power to him. And if, on his watch, something gets printed suggesting that Joe Lieberman is not the only Democrat in existence, or that Palestinians are members of the human race, so much the better. You, Auros and Lloyd Winburn like this. 2 Hours Ago from slate.com · Reply · Unlike · Flag GoogleyEyed Joe Lieberman, a Democrat? Not since I can't remember when. ... 6 Minutes Ago from slate.com · Reply · Like · Flag some other guy "The New Republic, the 98-year-old liberal magazine..." Is this a joke? Is there a liberal cause that the New Republican hasn't trashed over the last couple of decades? They were pro-Iraq War, anti-OWS, anti-health care reform, peddled the Bell Curve "blacks are inherently dumber than whites" BS, and the list goes on... There's a reason "Even the liberal New Republic..." is an Internet meme. You and 1 more like this. 3 Hours Ago from slate.com · Reply · Unlike · Flag Increase Powers Excellent. I stopped subscribing years ago after I got fed up with Peretz and his obsessive Israel-ueber-Alles version of Zionism. He uses the magazine as a weapon against everyone and anyone who disagrees with him on Mideast politics, attacking them on other grounds when that is clearly his real motivation. I only hope the new owner hasn't agreed to let him call the shots on any editorial issues. I'd love to start reading it again for all the good things they publish, but at the moment I'm with redrighthand above. You, Auros and Lloyd Winburn like this. 3 Hours Ago from slate.com · Reply · Unlike · Flag GoogleyEyed No one dares criticize Israel or Zionism else they be labeled anti-Semitic. Methinks it's time we stopped catering to Israel as if she were a coddled, spoiled child. If Netanyahu wants to bomb Iran, so be it. But let him fight his own war, without U.S. aid (would be my hopeless dream). 2 Minutes Ago from slate.com · Reply · Like · Flag redrighthand Great. But as long as it still stinks of Peretz I will not go near it. 3 Hours Ago from slate.com · Reply · Like · Flag George Hoffman This is hopefully great news. Chris Hughes will only improve the quality of TNR, but perhaps he will open up the editorial mission to allow a broader range of opinions, articles and essays. TNR recently has been beating the war drums for American intervention in the Syrian civil war. Just read Sen. John McCain's recent essay in the publication. Highly emotional piece of work when cool heads are needed more than ever after two disastrous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Of course, TNR under Peter Beinart's editorial direction beat the war drums for the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Now Beinart admits he made a tragic mistake in lending so far to the right. So perhaps Hughes will introduce more dissenting opinions for consideration of its readers. And I hope gradually Hughes will push out Marty "Pusillanimous" Peretz, who is beginning to remind me of that crazy uncle that lives in the attic and the family members have come to tolerate only around the dinner table during the holiday season. He's definitely worn out his welcome at TNR. You, Auros, Lloyd Winburn and Tom Pryor like this. 3 Hours Ago from slate.com · Reply · Unlike · Flag Nic Nookular For better or worse, this sounds like philantropy 4 Hours Ago from slate.com · Reply · Like · Flag Takamura From Citizen Kane "I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in, 60 years." likes this. 2 Hours Ago from slate.com · Reply · Like · Flag

- GoogleyEye

March 9, 2012 at 3:07pm

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I recently re-upped my subscription after a number of years away from the magazine. I think the current editorial team has done an excellent job transforming TNR.com into one of the more entertaining, intelligent and (professionally) useful news analysis sites on the web. I hope the new ownership provides the financial foundation for the site to continue to evolve along its recent path. I for one am willing to take Chris Hughes' statement of laudable intentions at face value for the time being. With so much truly malevolent media ownership out there right now, I'm willing to play ball with TNR's new ownership as a reader and occassional participant. Good luck!

- fbraconi

March 9, 2012 at 3:40pm

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Someone who posts on Slate.com thinks that TNR, the journal with the best pro-reform reporting on the health care battle by far, was "anti-health care reform"??

- ironyroad

March 9, 2012 at 4:36pm

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Good riddance to that bigot, Marty Peretz. I've been hoping for his departure for a long time. I love the magazine, but it's been regularly stained by his poorly reasoned and unreasonable anti-Arab, anti-Muslim rants.

- interloper

March 9, 2012 at 4:47pm

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Ironyroad - I think that is because back in 94, tnr ran a long article by someone - I have forgotten whom - that opposed the Clinton health care initiative. Remember, some folks have not read tnr since 94 for lots of reasons: Peretz's unhinged rants, Iraq War cheerleader, endorsement of Joementum, and going back to thee 80's having Fred Barnes, Charles Krauthammer and Morton Kondracke all polluting the pond at the same time. Believe me, once MP leaves the stage for good, the subscription numbers may edge up.

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 4:53pm

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I'm worried. I remember Jumo. I see it as part of this Silicon Valley "betterworldism" which often ascribes a "higher mission" to social media which usually winds up being copyleftist and collectivist. I hope TNR will stay in the classic liberal space. It is the only one of its kind. I hope it doesn't change its essential support of Israel by making the distinction between a democracy under the rule of law and the lawless tyrannies that still remain in hostile encirclement despite the Arab Spring. I hope Marty Peretz will keep appearing regularly in the magazine. TNR should have its head on straight that its purpose is not to re-elect Obama but to hold the fort at the liberal center.

- catfitz

March 9, 2012 at 4:56pm

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I hope there's not too much focus on tablet access. While I love my iPad, it's too heavy to shlep on the subway to and from work, which is usually where I read my paper copy of TNR, which is perfectly light and slim and lends itself to being read while standing on the subway and attempting to remain vertical. And I'm another vote for bringing back both Michelle Cottle and Chris Orr, or find some similarly talented people to fill their shoes. I miss Michelle Cottle in particular.

- shellski

March 9, 2012 at 5:11pm

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"Ironyroad - I think that is because back in 94, tnr ran a long article by someone - I have forgotten whom - that opposed the Clinton health care initiative." It was the noted fabulist Betsey McCaughey, and Andrew Sullivan championed the publication of her hit job. Just like he championed the publication of an essay by Charles Murray defending his views in "The Bell Curve". At least you can't hang Stephen Glass on him, since he had already left TNR when Glass was hired. I'm not sure if it's funny or ironic that former editors like Sullivan and Beinart (he of the Joe-Mentum endorsement and the Iraq War-drumming) have had heartfelt epiphanies years after they left TNR and now publicly disavow their former views (though Sullivan still expresses occasional half-hearted interest in the issue of comparative intelligence across racial groups, almost like picking at an old scab). They now view their years of baying at the moon from the TNR masthead with great regret. If they only had the good sense not to do it in the first place. And I don't think one can blame all their foolishness on the gravitational pull of Marty's biases, strong as they are.

- wildboy

March 9, 2012 at 5:34pm

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Am a long-time (decades) subscriber, and a bit nervous about this, but hope for the best, and especially hope TNR's wonderful mix of opinions and the cultural section will continue, along with the high quality of the writing and editing. And by all means bring things into the 21st century tecnologically, but really really hope that you're not gonna make people sign up for Facebook and/or other social media sites to be able to comment -- I avoid them like the plague. But all good luck...

- LISAH

March 9, 2012 at 5:36pm

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wildboy - Yes, that was the name of the wretched "journalist" that stamped tnr as anti health care reform. I have not forgotten the ill-considered embrace of Charles Murray either. I did take a break from tnr when horrid Michael Kelly - God Rest His Soul - took over. I don't like to speak ill of the dead but that guy drove me away for several years. I do agree that Peter Beinart seems to be in a perpetual state of atonement for his misdeeds while at tnr. So much in fact that he too in now on Marty's ever expanding list of "self haters" read anyone Jewish person who has the temerity to disagree with his far right views on Israel/US relations, the Middle East and the humanity of Muslims in general. I don't follow Andrew Sullivan much; he has never appealed to me. I hope that I am conveying that despite my quarrels with the magazine and some of its editors over the decades, I still love reading it in print though I have been reading it on my wife's iPad and I like that a lot. I would truly be saddened if tnr folded its tent and disappeared. It has been a part of my life since college and for magazine structure, format, and ambition, it still is at the top of the heap with me.

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 5:44pm

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Oh -- while I'm at it, re the Israel, Peretz, etc. themes expressed above: TNR, is a valuable voice in covering Israel, one of the relatively few that isn't out to attack it, one of the few that -- even allowing for Peretz, to those attacking him -- that covers the Middle East overall, and especially that tiny troubled area, accurately and thoughtfully. Certainly hope that continues.....

- LISAH

March 9, 2012 at 5:51pm

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I'll second that; I've been dismayed by the anti-Israel tenor of too many "liberal" publications in recent years, and the thoughtlessness about the Middle East/North Africa/Central Asia in general. Also I'm tired of having to preface this comment with "I'm on the Left and I'm a peacenik," just so people don't confuse me with Dick Cheney. As for Facebook, I have an account but it's linked to my work and I hope I can comment without going through FB. Just sayin':) Finally, boy do I ever second the emotions about HuffPo. Oy they are bad, half the time I can't figure out what the articles are trying to convey on the simplest level.

- Sophia

March 9, 2012 at 6:36pm

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PS definitely we need more focus on women's issues. Jonathan Cohn has been brilliant recently, but there seems to be a deliberate attempt to abrogate our rights and punish us for wanting to be people lately; this demands attention. Also, please please keep Leon W, he is a genius. His language can make me cry.

- Sophia

March 9, 2012 at 6:39pm

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Well, I read about this development in my New York Times today. That was delivered to my house, not on-line. So a little memo to the New 'Publisher' you probably want to control your stores a little better so that you don't get scooped like this first piece. NYT had more depth and background, memo to staff, please explain why they had more and better material than TNR did, when TNR had the story first. This news is a little hopeful and a but worrying. Watching TNR decline over the last 5 years has been a big disappointment. I realize the economics are painful and the disruption of the internet can not be easily undestood, but I beleive that TNR could have done better. It seemed at time the Writer's were calling it in, picking easy stories, wiriting these stories before doing any research, and confirming their biases. I don't bother to read Cohn anymore because he hasn't had an original thought in years. But the magazine still has many good features, it's the website that worries me. The magazine has a cadence and design to it, a cover that draws you in, and index that let's you prioritize, and stories that catch you and hold you. The website is too thin, and doesn't flow, there's no predictablility. I think this comes from publishing economics. I read WSJ.Com about 5 days a week, and really enjoy that site. They have huge resources, and their reporting is about the best available. They have a huge subscription base to support their work, and I don't ming paying for this. Really it's not their iPad App or their digital subscription. My hope was that Michael Lewis would buy TNR and we would get a former writer, someone with a Wall Street background, and a generally interesting person to invest himself into this enterprise. I guess we'll see about Mr. Hughes. More writers and a digital upgrade are a good start, but they need to be the rigth writers. People who still know what it's like to work in American and raise a family, and who care about thei subjects they wirte about. My fear is that the emphasis will be on Liberal Journalism, and become lost in the chatter.

- CRS9TNR

March 9, 2012 at 7:13pm

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Without Peretz and especially if Wieseltier leaves the magazine will become just another vehicle for selling political and commercial merchandise. I am not convinced that the new owner cares about enduring literature and the other arts. You can't be a strong and serous liberal if you don't value great literature for its own sake. Say what you will about about Peretz he did put out a great liberal magazine that valued fine literature. Not even the NY Review of books did that in the last few decades.

- arnon1

March 9, 2012 at 8:01pm

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Yes, Sophia...more on women's issues, especially on the politics angle, the ways the right is using everything from birth control to zygotes to divert attention from economics, poverty, and the like while attacking women's health needs. agree, arnon1, on Peretz and Wieseltier, and their overwhelmingly positive impacts on TNR...and as for NY Review of Books -- they've been far too negatively political....too ideological....

- LISAH

March 9, 2012 at 8:25pm

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"...and as for NY Review of Books -- they've been far too negatively political....too ideological...." Yes, and ideology destroys the appreciation of literature. I had a feeling that Wieseltier in his recent essay on printed books was writing a kind of valedictory comment about them; maybe even an obituary. Chris Hughes wants to make the TNR more i-Pad friendly god help us.

- arnon1

March 9, 2012 at 9:18pm

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Among the tnr faithful, I sense a real fear of technological advances and with the possible departure of MP (& LW), the loss of a House Organ publication where critiques of Israeli policies are called "attacks", not that this has been much of an issue here at tnr, where in my time - since 81 - I think I can recall one or two articles that dared to utter a critical word on Israeli policies or actions. Perhaps I exaggerate but I can probably count them on one hand. This is not healthy for an American political magazine proudly touting their vaunted heterodoxy. I mean, any and all countries make mistakes or need some constructive criticism, especially from allies but tnr has not been up to this task. It has been somewhat of a House Organ for Israel Can Do No Wrong. I rather doubt that the new owner will change this much because if he planned to do so, I doubt that even a cash strapped MP would sell it to someone who would change his policy of no criticism very much. My guess is that the new tnr will sound a lot like the old tnr. As for the political journalism, I disagree with many of the comments here: the last 8 years of tnr's political commentary has been the best 8 years of my 30+ years. This is after all a liberal magazine, which amid the toxic wasteland of Michael Kelly, Fred Barnes, Charles Krauthammer, "Second Thoughts", Charles Murray, Andrew Sullivan, Iraq War pimping, Joementum, endorsing John Anderson, and many others, tnr is damn lucky they have had the Gold Standard in Books and Arts all these years.

- MrCookie1

March 9, 2012 at 9:48pm

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I am skipping over Mr. Cookie's post. If I need advice on what is and what is healthy for a literary magazine, I'll read Lionel Trilling or Cynthia Ozick.

- arnon1

March 9, 2012 at 9:57pm

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What Sophia said. (This is a recording.) I'll follow Leon Wieseltier wherever he chooses to post his musings & essays. For the new guy, I wonder if he would allow his employees to lend their editorial imprimatur to a semi-anonymous labeling of Rachel Maddow as "overrated." Like Jonathan Cohn said, she's not.

- Konstantin

March 9, 2012 at 10:12pm

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Agree with Arnon also. The arts are incredibly important! despite the fact that guess what is always being removed from various budgets, being considered a "luxury;" this is barbarous.

- Sophia

March 9, 2012 at 10:16pm

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Wow.

- jacko

March 9, 2012 at 10:28pm

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Another ancient subscriber -- what? 40+ years. Ups and downs, but TNR has helped shaped more than one opinion. Keep doing that. But the literary side is one of the absolute treasures, so please put this down as a deeply felt vote for LeonW. His moral engagement and the quality of the essays have been one of the real treats these past years. So Chris? welcome.

- riley

March 9, 2012 at 11:01pm

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I too enjoyed Lionel Trilling and enjoy Ms. Ozick. However, Mr. Trilling has been dead for almost 40 years and Ms. Ozick is, I believe, in her early to mid 80's. Their work certainly informed what political/literary journals used to be; given a chance - and a shift from away from a geriatric readership - this Chris Hughes stripling may end up informing what political/literary criticism will be over the next 40 years. And we could be a part of it, the future, if we move away from clinging to the past.

- MrCookie1

March 10, 2012 at 1:22am

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I think crudely applied ideology can destroy appreciation of any art form, not just literature, but in a more general sense literature can also be about ideas, and ideas can be problematic things that leak out from under aesthetic categories. Just to pick one example, it's not wrong to say that Marvell's "Horatian Ode on Cromwell's Return from Ireland" is both a great poem about leadership and its challenges and also a rabid triumphalist creed directed against the Catholic Irish. And it would be difficult to grasp, say, Lowell's "For the Union Dead" without some sense of the ideologies of the American Civil War.

- ironyroad

March 10, 2012 at 3:48am

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2:02 pm by the one to be soon domesticated. It was not Noga, it was arnon1. Old age will always do it to you. New owners, old owners, no difference .

- JAIMECHUCH

March 10, 2012 at 7:44am

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I've had a love hate response to both Wieseltier and Perrtz over the years--for me since about 2007. That said, they are mainstays of my interest here. Without them, were they both to go, and without their grounding for the kinds of articles published here, and the commenters they attract, agree with their comments or not, I'm afraid TNR, for me, will become one more place to casually dip into once in a while and see what's going on as opposed to a place, a community centre of sorts, where I'd habitually hang my hat for a while.

- basman

March 10, 2012 at 1:49pm

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Or would that be better said "casually to dip into?" Note to self: split infinitives are the harbinger of the demise of civilization.

- basman

March 10, 2012 at 1:54pm

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Casually into which, dip?

- Sophia

March 10, 2012 at 2:33pm

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Reading about "dip" is irritating, as it is lunch time and I am hungry. However, I am assuming that the change in TNR ownership will bring some changes in policy, appearance, technology, politics, religious belief and other essential qualities to confuse, irritate, and dismay me. As an old curmudgeon, I live to whinge, criticize, and complain. I am still fairly healthy at the moment, but I might drop dead tomorrow, so I can't wait forever to complain about the "new" TNR. When do the changes begin? This sentence added to help make the bold end. And this.

- skahn

March 10, 2012 at 3:37pm

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bring back michael

- trinity225

March 11, 2012 at 12:32am

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Thanks Malahat. My consternation about splitting an infinitive was a bit of a self deprecatory kibbitz meant to be a touch of fun here.

- basman

March 11, 2012 at 12:33am

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On a slightly more serious note, my impression, in hindsight, of the unusual spate of Peretz's recent articles is that perhaps they represented a burst of final pieces. I hope that's wrong.

- basman

March 11, 2012 at 12:53am

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basman, I wondered about that too.

- ironyroad

March 11, 2012 at 1:53am

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Mr. Hughes, if you get rid of racist writers like Mr. Peretz and remake this magazine about the American Republic instead of the Republic of Israel-fristers, you will be successful and get a much higher readership. If you look at the comments in the articles, you will see pretty much the same dozen commentators talking about Israel and the war against the "muslim world" and that's it. Very little about the interests of America first.

- MSA70

March 11, 2012 at 11:00am

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The usual MSA70 antisemitic comment. If the magazine becomes an "American first magazine" it will join the trash heap of past antisemitic magazines or become a second rate right wing rag.

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 11:29am

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Speaking as an old person, I wonder if either TNR will bring in some youthful and original ideas and voices from a new generation, or it will die, mumbling to itself about how much better things were when we were young and our heroes and heroines themselves were young. As this discussion thread trickles to the end, with feeble (and mostly pointless) insults rolling back and forth, I am thought of old bocce ball competitors, feebly trying to fling the balls at each other, and falling over and wrenching our ankles (if not breaking hips) in the process. As far as anti-Semitism and defending Israel, either all human beings (regardless of religious, racial, ethnic, and other irrelevant labels) learn to live together and care for each other or we will all destroy each other. We are a very clever evolved animal, we now know how to commit suicide not only as individuals, but as nations and as a species as well. Last night in our woods, I heard coyotes howling and yipping loudly. They are waiting for us to fall. "Good eating, tonight," they are telling each other.

- skahn

March 11, 2012 at 1:17pm

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Our island's library system is having one of those "If everybody on Whidbey Island read the same book" campaigns. This year the book is non-fiction, Crow Planet. It's a good book. The author is intelligent, articulate, eloquent, and an attractive babe as well. Both the book and this topic made me think of an old Scottish poem. You may know enough Scots to read the original; I don't, so I am posting a translation for us ignorant ones. The theme is apropos, I think: The Two Crows As I was walking all alone, I heard two crows (or ravens) making a moan; One said to the other, "Where shall we go and dine today?" "In behind that old turf wall, I sense there lies a newly slain knight; And nobody knows that he lies there, But his hawk, his hound and his lady fair." "His hound is to the hunting gone, His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl home, His lady's has taken another mate, So we may make our dinner sweet." "You will sit on his white neck-bone, And I'll peck out his pretty blue eyes; With one lock of his golden hair We'll thatch our nest when it grows bare." "Many a one for him is moaning, But nobody will know where he is gone; Over his white bones, when they are bare, The wind will blow for evermore."

- skahn

March 11, 2012 at 1:27pm

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skahn "Speaking as an old person, I wonder if either TNR will bring in some youthful and original ideas and voices from a new generation, or it will die, mumbling to itself about how much better things were when we were young and our heroes and heroines themselves were young." Who here has boasted about "how much better better life used to be?" You are the one who is senile Kahn. Few people here can much you for posting pointless and narcissistic comments. The world doesn't revolve around you.

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 1:28pm

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I am encouraged by this thread and the comments. It's good to see the Readers engaged and brutally honest. I enjoyed Skahn's 'Two Crows' poems and it works here. On a little more important note, in this turmoil, do we have a TNR Intern to set up the CBS Sports March Madness Brackets? I've been competitive the last couple of years and really want to beat Isaac this year. Murray State, Gonzaga and Notre Dame look competitive this year and we should have some fun in the brackets. Big 10 looks a little overrepresented this year and should be good for a few disappintments. It can't be all Obamacare and Israel here all the time. A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest of men.

- CRS9TNR

March 11, 2012 at 1:48pm

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skahn - Pay no attention to the sour mumblings; your comments, often lyrical, are thoughtful and ask a very real question: Can any intellectual work survive without continual infusions of new talent, divergent views, and creative ideas and energy? I say no. Sure, tnr can probably survive a few more years with its current demographic, banking on the advances of modern medicine to stretch out the life span of its the over 75 crowd. Perhaps those medicinal miracles will even find a cure for the sourness that often infects that particular slice of the geriatric community. I am excited about the new ownership of tnr. Mainly because tnr as it was constituted was unsustainable and truth be told, sliding towards irrelevance.

- MrCookie1

March 11, 2012 at 4:06pm

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MrCookie1 "skahn - Pay no attention to the sour mumblings; your comments, often lyrical, are thoughtful and ask a very real question: Can any intellectual work survive without continual infusions of new talent, divergent views, and creative ideas and energy?" Another posing artificial questions about issues no one proposed. With Mr. Cookie there is also always a subtext of violence in everything he posts. Creativity and violence or threat of violence don't go together. Violence is less suited to original thinking than. Many a 70 year old thinker or artist has created original and influential ideas and art. Violent people seldom accomplish anything lasting.

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 6:09pm

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If TNR slides towards irrelevance for true liberal left leaning thinkers and artists it will be because they care more about demographics than art and culture.

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 6:11pm

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Mr. Arnon, I have no idea what you are talking about. Violence? If you think that the highlighted quote from my comment to skahn has a "subtext of violence" then you have no real idea what violence is, textual or subtextual. Besides, Mr. Arnon, I believe that comment was directed to Mr. SKahn. I have no idea what drives your comments or your perspective but it seems to be that whatever that is, it is truly muddled and only comprehensible to you, in your own head, polluted by God Knows What sour ideas and thoughts you project onto strangers. Please go out and smell the fresh air, play with a child, perhaps taste a savory meal. You need it.

- MrCookie1

March 11, 2012 at 6:29pm

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"03/09/2012 - 3:03pm EDT | MrCookie1 tnr had a pretty good sports blogger in Spencer Ackerman but I heard a rumor that he threatened to do something um, inappropriate, to FFoer's skull and that was that. I do think a good sports blogger is a must. I thoroughly enjoyed those baseball/basketball forums."

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 6:49pm

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MrCookie1 so called has never posted anything worthwhile on the arts and letters section. In fact I don't remember him posting anything there at all. His big subject is his hatred of Peretz, his hatred of Wieseltier, etc. He loves to give advice and tell poster what to do. Beyond that zero.

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 6:54pm

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Mr. Arnon - For your information,I left tnr blogs about two years ago primarily because I tired of the proliferating number of loonies, wackos, flat earthers, and sociopaths who were over populating the forums. So, yes, you are correct: I have not posted much over the past two years. Our exchange reminds me of a particular type of person who can, by simply looking at a pebble, infer an ocean, the violence of waves, the disruption of natural disasters, the vagaries of whatever human and natural conditions that helped form that pebble. We need people like this. However, sometimes, with these kinds of people, their ganglions are so overly sensitive that the normal every day hurly burly of life overwhelms them; relating stories about conflict btw tnr staffers, referring to active sports activities, telling another poster to ignore the sour mumblings, rattles them and incapacitates their capacity to function, communicate, understand. Oft times, these folks take refuge in activities cauterized of most human condition, say, sitting at a computer screen and nervously awaiting the opportunity to insult or negatively engage a distance electronic presence. You Mr. Arnon, remind me of such a person. That is why I refuse to engage you any further. I make it a practice to not reward bad behavior or, figuratively speaking, salt snails. Adieu Mr.Arnon. I hope you do continue with tnr because who knows, you might find the new iteration enjoyable. But something tells me you won't.

- MrCookie1

March 11, 2012 at 7:10pm

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MrCookie1 "Mr. Arnon - For your information,I left tnr blogs about two years ago.." No you haven't you are still here. You come in periodically with your holier than thou pronouncements. If you left why aren't you gone?

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 7:16pm

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btw: you are one of those wackos you complain about. You should look at yourself from the other side of the screen sometime.

- arnon1

March 11, 2012 at 7:17pm

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Mr. Hughes, can you endorse this editorial critical of Occupy Wall Street? Yes or no. If not, we really have to worry: http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/96062/occupy-wall-street-zizek-lewis

- catfitz

March 11, 2012 at 8:16pm

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skahn, did you ever come across Joel Barlow's poem "Advice to a Raven in Russia"? Barlow was American ambassador to France -- appointed in 1811 -- and had to travel across Europe to reach Napoleon's HQ to present his credentials. He was a poet and journalist, and had been involved in negotiating the Treaty of Tripoli to free American hostages from the Barbary States. http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/advice-to-a-raven-in-russia-1812/ Barlow was a poet and journalist, one of the so-called "Connecticut Wits," had lived in France for many years (and he died in 1812, in office, in Europe). His poem captures that old image of the raven and turns it into an anti-war appeal. The image of the raven, frustrated that he can't pluck out and eat the frozen eye of the dead soldier has always stayed with me.

- ironyroad

March 11, 2012 at 11:23pm

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Ironyroad, I don't think I've read Barlow's fine Raven poem before, and I appreciate the link. As I have participated in on line discussion forums for many years, and inspired many attacks (puzzling me a bit, as I consider myself the most sensible and amiable of participants), I am not much perturbed when a few people here foam at the mouth when they read my comments, for a couple of reasons. 1. While I do not wish any of you any harm, I really don't give much of a shit about any of you, especially the nasty ones (senile or in full possession of your originally skimpy senses). 2. As I've said before, and will, I guess, say again many more times (like teasing mad dogs) if I make a mistake in fact, provide reasonably persuasive documentation, and I will admit and correct the error. If you differ with my interpretation and opinion, express your argument coherently and cogently -- and preferably reasonably civilly -- and I will consider it seriously, and perhaps change my opinion. And while we are all bringing up our poetic chops -- and perhaps fittingly addressed to any of those who malign us here -- I remembered and found -- one of my favorite love/betrayal poems from my college English major Elizabethan-poetry reading days (Henry VIII in this case) Sir Thomas Wyatt's "They Flee From Me." http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/theyflee.htm

- skahn

March 12, 2012 at 2:40pm

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skahn - I like your style. Reads like a sensible posting credo. Good luck!

- MrCookie1

March 12, 2012 at 3:12pm

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skahn "Speaking as an old person, I wonder if either TNR will bring in some youthful and original ideas and voices from a new generation, or it will die, mumbling to itself about how much better things were when we were young and our heroes and heroines themselves were young." Who here has boasted about "how much better better life used to be?" You are the one who is senile Kahn. Few people here can much you for posting pointless and narcissistic comments. The world doesn't revolve around you.

- arnon1

March 12, 2012 at 6:38pm

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"I really don't give much of a shit about any of you,..." That's obvious Kahn. Not to worry no one cares about you neither, in spite of their protestations to the contrary.

- arnon1

March 12, 2012 at 6:43pm

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MrCookie, thank you for your supportive comment. Some the interesting things about on line communication. 1. Many of the comments represent communication posters would be unlikely to utter in the actual presence of the other people they are communicating with. (Unless a much larger percentage of the people posting comments here are members of the “Bloods” and the “Crips” and similar street youth gangs than I consider likely.) A parallel phenomenon is how many people behave badly when they are driving, as if an “envelope” of steel, plastic, and glass makes them in less rather than (the reality) of more in danger of harm as a result of their aggressive, risky vehicular behavior. 2. There is something akin to “body language” in the syntax and style of many people posting on line, where I think it is not difficult to sense that as participants type their comments they are experiencing the same physiological reactions as a person getting ready for physical combat does. As they “punch” keys to call people fools and idiots, they are actually feeling hormonal and biochemical reactions similar to what they would feel if they were pulling back a fist to physically punch someone or picking up a bat or a brick to swing or hurl. For example, from a more recent thread: Dear Poupic, I have held my tongue long enough. The Shoah consumed hundreds of writers, artists, musicians and thinkers -- the cream of European Jewish intelligensia. As a intelligent, cultured human being, I mourn this loss every day. That a vile, little bigoted toad like you survived, and that you use the Shoah as cover to spew your putrid bile, proves to me that there is no justice in the universe. Please go away. Now the comment may be accurate and perfectly justified. I am not criticizing the comment poster. Even if he is quite justified, however; posting such a comment will not change the opinion or behavior of the person he criticizes. The other person will not go away; he will not stop saying the things he says. In fact punching him, knocking him down, and kicking him in the head will be unlikely to provoke opinion change or inspire better behavior. Just a little note in passing by the way, there is no justice in the universe. In case anybody was wondering.

- skahn

March 12, 2012 at 11:12pm

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skahn Fascinating observations. Actually Mr. Arnon is not without a clue: I did grow up in some extremely tough neighborhoods and had to learn how to box - and street fight - to just survive and be able to go take a piss during school hours. So, however thin his other capacities may be, that he picked that up is actually pretty impressive. I will grant him that I grew up on the streets and if somehow Mr. Arnon picked that up from my posts, well then I am impressed with his intuition. Thus, my pebble analogy. As for me, I try very hard not to let my demons get the best of me at any time, particularly when posting or communicating electronically. It is all so silly when you think about it. Why even do it? I believe you are on to something about the physiology of banging on keys to attack others electronically. Attacking or insulting someone electronically means you never have to really face the consequences of that kind of aggression, which could turn out to be a painful life lesson. To be honest, I have always suspected that the most aggressive posters probably couldn't last 30 seconds with a good Camp Fire Girl. I do agree with you about not letting attacks get to me: When I first started posting, I would let my emotions get the best of me but then a guy named JackR became my friend, nicely communicated that I was making a priceless ass of myself and since then, I at least try to contain overt expressions of violence but then that was before I encountered the telepathic powers of Mr. Arnon. Whom I suspect btw, is the new name for a guy named jacksondyer, who I actually kinda liked, warts and all.

- MrCookie1

March 12, 2012 at 11:58pm

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But is this an excuse for the whiner having sex with his lovely chickens? Is that considered a degenerate? That was the origin of AIDS, those in Africa having sex with monkeys. Ah the whiner protects himself he uses condoms . And above all, when caught by his wife he claimed dementia , he claimed atheism, he claimed amoral nihilism, he claimed being horny, he claimed high stress for being attacked on TNR. He claimed being disgusted by hysterical hemor...roid. The dishonest Galicianer self hatred Jew.

- JAIMECHUCH

March 13, 2012 at 12:54pm

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Mr. Cookie, the Kook who said he had left is still here trying to tell everyone how to behave and post. Kook was a born caudillo how has missed his chance to set up his own little principality. The less said to or about the little Kahn, the better. I am not sure he remembers from one day to the next what he posts here. His aim is to become visible. He posts on almost every thread whether he knows anything about the topic (more often he does not) or not. He merely wants to remind the world that he exists. What a pair.

- arnon1

March 13, 2012 at 8:07pm

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Okay, Mr. Arnon, you are jacksondyer! Can't fool me. Only jacksondyer called me the Kook! Whether you admit it or not, I know it is you; truly one of a kind. Glad you're still around. You haven't lost any of your edge or your persistence. Glad to be crossing swords with you again. And if I ever get that principality, I will send you an invite. Really, good to know you're still kicking and fussin' and fightin'. Rock on Old Dude!

- MrCookie1

March 13, 2012 at 8:52pm

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Oh so now he thinks that because someone called him a kook and I called him a kook.... Trust MR. Kookie to draw imaginary conclusions from non existent evidence.

- arnon1

March 13, 2012 at 9:34pm

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Oh jackson, you can't fool me. Oh well then, if we must play games, Mr. Arnon, you remind me a lot of a guy named jacksondyer. He was a tough lock to pick but every now and then, he showed that he had a heart. Perhaps you aren't jackson. Jackson would have at least backed off enough to say hello, long time no see. Oh well, Mr. Arnon, I will see you around. Point of Diminishing Returns and all...

- MrCookie1

March 13, 2012 at 9:56pm

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