Media in rocky transition: 30 New Republic editors resign, next issue cancelled

There have been rumors of change and internal differences of philosophy for weeks. But the rumors were true: Franklin Foer resigned as editor of The New Republic on Thursday afternoon, to be replaced by Gabriel Snyder, a digital guru at Bloomberg Media who formerly worked for The Atlantic Wire and Gawker. Long time literary editor Leon Wieseltier also resigned. The events have been framed as an “editorial shakeup” at the magazine, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year.

Indeed. In the wake of the resignations, 28 other staff and contributing editors following suit, sharing their decisions instantly on social media. Needless to say, the next issue of the magazine was shelved. But management forged ahead, announcing that operations would be moved from the nation’s capital to new York City..

“As we move forward under Gabriel’s leadership, we are re-imagining The New Republic as a vertically integrated digital media company. Gabriel is ideally suited to bridge traditional journalism and digital media,” said Guy Vidra, CEO of the publication, who also revealed that publication of the venerable magazine would be cut from 20 issues to 10 a year in the future.

“The New Republic has been one of the great loves of my life - a set of ideas, a history, a collection of people I revere. I grew up here, made my best friends here, and learned so many profound lessons about the world in the process,” Mr. Foer said in a farewell email to his colleagues.

“Part of the joy has been the struggle: We’ve fought to preserve an institution that was perpetually imperiled,” he said, referring to a common woe in the media these days - profitability in a changing marketplace. “I’ve always had a hard time imagining leaving here. That moment, however, has arrived,” Mr. Foer explained in his message.

Mr. Foer was editor at the magazine for four years previously; he returned to his post in 2012 following the financial intercession of media entrepreneur Chris Hughes, the 31-year-old co-founder of Facebook. He bought the magazine with hopes of preserving its editorial calling while still turning a profit.