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ok, let me rephrase after a downvote: he is the owner, right? why is it unreasonable for him to want this publication he owns to be a business? Why does that

ok, let me rephrase after a downvote: he is the owner, right? why is it unreasonable for him to want this publication he owns to be a business? Why does that require an explanation?

chasing 12y ago
It's not unreasonable, of course. Except for the special case that he's worth $800m and the publication in question is the New Republic. And, as he notes, there is a trend of journalistic organizations eschewing the traditional for-profit model in order to sustain themselves and provide the quality journalism our country and world needs.
- vasilipupkin 12y ago
  So, just because he is worth 800 million, he absolutely must be ok with New Republic not being self sustaining? that seems unreasonable to me. He may have lots of ideas about what to do with his money that don't all involve this one issue
  - chasing 12y ago
    You've misunderstood me. I agree with you: It's not unreasonable for him to want to run the New Republic as a self-sustaining business. And he owes no one an explanation -- especially if he's fine with changing how people view the New Republic as a brand. (Meaning, if he doesn't care about alienating his existing readers in favor of a new readership, whatever that might be.) But we're in a world where quality journalism is evaporating, I think it's fair for people to want more of an explanation than this. Especially since, as someone who possesses extreme wealth, he's not under the same financial pressures as another owner might be. Many people care about the New Republic. We want to know why things we care about appear to be breaking.
    - vasilipupkin 12y ago
      "We are in a world where quality journalism is evaporating". Really? I don't see it that way. NYTimes, New Yorker, Vox, Atlantic, and yes, even BuzzFeed and BusinessInsider, ProPublica, NPR, WSJ, Financial Times, etc, etc. do lots of interesting, quality journalism. Maybe, I am wrong - but I feel like I have easy access to a lot more good stuff than ever before
justin66 12y ago
In addition to what chasing said: in the process of turning it into a "sustainable business" he rapidly destroyed it and basically owns just the (not super strong) brand now. That's not especially reasonable.
- vasilipupkin 12y ago
  well, I am not claiming he did everything right. But, "destroyed" it ? Last I checked ( 5 mins ago ) newrepublic.com is up and running and full of interesting stuff. So, it seems like it's a bit early to say it's all over and finished
deleted 12y ago
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waterlesscloud 12y ago
It's just a really strange purchase to make if your goal is to have a profitable business. That's never been what it's been about.

ok, let me rephrase after a downvote: he is the owner, right? why is it unreasonable for him to want this publication he owns to be a business? Why does that require an explanation?

chasing 12y ago

It's not unreasonable, of course. Except for the special case that he's worth $800m and the publication in question is the New Republic. And, as he notes, there is a trend of journalistic organizations eschewing the traditional for-profit model in order to sustain themselves and provide the quality journalism our country and world needs.

vasilipupkin 12y ago
So, just because he is worth 800 million, he absolutely must be ok with New Republic not being self sustaining? that seems unreasonable to me. He may have lots of ideas about what to do with his money that don't all involve this one issue
- chasing 12y ago
  You've misunderstood me. I agree with you: It's not unreasonable for him to want to run the New Republic as a self-sustaining business. And he owes no one an explanation -- especially if he's fine with changing how people view the New Republic as a brand. (Meaning, if he doesn't care about alienating his existing readers in favor of a new readership, whatever that might be.) But we're in a world where quality journalism is evaporating, I think it's fair for people to want more of an explanation than this. Especially since, as someone who possesses extreme wealth, he's not under the same financial pressures as another owner might be. Many people care about the New Republic. We want to know why things we care about appear to be breaking.
  - vasilipupkin 12y ago
    "We are in a world where quality journalism is evaporating". Really? I don't see it that way. NYTimes, New Yorker, Vox, Atlantic, and yes, even BuzzFeed and BusinessInsider, ProPublica, NPR, WSJ, Financial Times, etc, etc. do lots of interesting, quality journalism. Maybe, I am wrong - but I feel like I have easy access to a lot more good stuff than ever before

justin66 12y ago

In addition to what chasing said: in the process of turning it into a "sustainable business" he rapidly destroyed it and basically owns just the (not super strong) brand now. That's not especially reasonable.

vasilipupkin 12y ago
well, I am not claiming he did everything right. But, "destroyed" it ? Last I checked ( 5 mins ago ) newrepublic.com is up and running and full of interesting stuff. So, it seems like it's a bit early to say it's all over and finished

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

waterlesscloud 12y ago

It's just a really strange purchase to make if your goal is to have a profitable business. That's never been what it's been about.