New Republic (magazine)

New Republic (magazine)
source
Title	New Republic
Founded	1914
Country	United States
Language	English
Frequency	Biweekly (varied)
Based	New York City; Washington, D.C.

New Republic (magazine) is an American magazine of commentary on United States politics, culture, and international relations. Founded in 1914, it has been associated with progressive and liberal currents linked to figures from the Progressive Era through the New Deal and into contemporary debates involving the Democratic Party, neoconservatism, and liberalism. The publication has served as a forum for writers, intellectuals, and policymakers across generations including connections to the Wilson administration, the Roosevelt presidency, and later debates surrounding the Iraq War and the Obama administration.

History

The magazine was established in 1914 by a cohort including Herbert Croly, Walter Lippmann, and Walter Weyl, amid the milieu of the Progressive Era, the Panama Canal, and debates over World War I neutrality. During the 1920s and 1930s it published contributors aligned with the New Deal coalition and engaged with figures such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Louis Brandeis. In mid-century decades the publication intersected with Cold War controversies involving the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and exchanges with intellectuals tied to the Congress for Cultural Freedom and the Council on Foreign Relations. Ownership and editorial leadership shifted through acquisitions involving proprietors linked to Samuel Grafton-era networks, later corporate owners, and 21st-century investors including figures from Silicon Valley and the media industry, with consequential changes during the administrations of George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Editorial Stance and Political Influence

Historically identified with progressive and liberalism currents, the magazine influenced policy discussions on the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and postwar foreign policy. Writers associated with the publication debated themes tied to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and later contested positions on Vietnam War policy and the rise of neoconservatism alongside activists from the New Left and the Civil Rights Movement. In the early 21st century its editorial line contended with positions on the Iraq War, the War on Terror, and the Affordable Care Act, aligning at times with establishment Democrats linked to Hillary Clinton and critics allied with Bernie Sanders. The magazine’s editorials and long-form pieces have been cited by policymakers at Congress hearings, staffers in the White House, and analysts at think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation.

Contributors and Notable Editors

The publication’s pages have featured a wide array of public intellectuals and cultural figures including John Dewey, Vladimir Nabokov, James Baldwin, I. F. Stone, H. L. Mencken, Irving Kristol, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Michael Kinsley, Edmund Wilson, and Christopher Hitchens. Editors and staff have included influential names such as Martin Peretz, Michael Kinsley, Richard Holbrooke (as contributor), Henry Fairlie, William F. Buckley Jr. (as respondent in debates), and contemporary editors who engaged with networks tied to The Atlantic and Slate. The magazine has also published early work by journalists and critics who later became staff at outlets like The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Content and Sections

Typical issues combine long-form essays, investigative reporting, book reviews, cultural criticism, and poetry, engaging with subjects such as the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and contemporary topics including climate change, globalization, and technology debates involving Silicon Valley leadership. Regular sections have included political analysis, arts criticism covering authors like T. S. Eliot and Toni Morrison, and policy roundtables featuring scholars from Columbia University, Harvard University, and Princeton University. The magazine’s reviews have influenced reception of books by George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, John Rawls, and commentators on international affairs such as Noam Chomsky and Samuel P. Huntington.

Circulation, Distribution, and Business History

Circulation has varied across decades, with peak influence during mid-20th century print culture and subsequent fluctuations amid consolidation in the media industry and competition from digital platforms such as The Atlantic, Politico, and BuzzFeed. The magazine relocated editorial operations between New York City and Washington, D.C. reflecting strategic positioning near publishing clusters and federal institutions including the White House and federal agencies. Ownership transitions involved investment from private equity and media entrepreneurs, with business models shifting from subscriber-driven revenue and newsstand sales to digital subscriptions, events, and sponsored content partnerships similar to others in the magazine sector like Time (magazine), Newsweek, and The New Republic’s peer publications.

Controversies and Criticism

The publication has attracted criticism over editorial decisions, accusations of ideological shifts, and controversies tied to ownership influence, editing practices, and workplace culture. Notable flashpoints included debates over coverage of the Iraq War, resignations by staff protesting editorial direction, disputes involving editors accused of privileging establishment viewpoints connected to figures such as Hillary Clinton or Bill Clinton, and disputes analogous to controversies at other outlets like Salon and BuzzFeed News. Critics from the conservative movement and the progressive movement alike have accused it of bias—leading to public disagreements with commentators from Fox News, MSNBC, and syndicated columnists in The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Category:Magazines published in the United States