It’s sad to follow the recent events concerning The New Republic magazine. I can relate because I left my webmaster position there in part because of changes being made by short lived owners Canwest, a Canadian media conglomerate. During my time there we enjoyed expanded the blogs, the art section, and the multi-media which to this day aren’t what they were. The Plank looks like the only blog left minus the word blog due to the words growing negative associations. I was there when the weekly turned into a biweekly which is now going to 10 issues a year, which is part of the reason for the mass resignations. My feelings seem to mirror that of the leaving editors. That is: embrace and expand new media but not at the expense of the magazine and it’s reputation. Franklin Foer was a great editor and boss. Not needing my editorial advice much the conversations I recall best were about Barcelona. Perhaps a bit out of line for a blog about photography and design I have to suggest Franks book “How Soccer Explains the World”. It’s a great read, even if your not a soccer fan, due to it’s topics of politics, economy and globalism. In conclusion… wish the co-creator of facebook didn’t feel the need to kill TNR just to make another Buzzfeed. RIP TNR
“So for Chris Hughes, 100 years of The New Republic was apparently enough”
Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
Facebook Prince Purges The New Republic: Inside the Destruction of a 100-Year-Old Magazine
How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization