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This Just In: Media
Keeping score at the New Republic
By Mike Miliard and Dan Kennedy
Since purchasing the New Republic in 1974, Martin Peretz has run up numbers worthy of George Steinbrenner.
The venerable weekly, founded in 1914 by a group that included such progressive giants as Herbert Croly and Walter Lippmann, had been a reliable, and stable, voice of the liberal left for decades before the dawn of the Peretz era. During Peretz's ownership, though, five men have held the title of editor, and two of them -- Michael Kinsley and Hendrik Hertzberg -- have each served two different stints. Last week Peretz changed horses yet again. Charles Lane resigned after learning from the Washington Post that Peretz was planning to name Peter Beinart to take his place.
As with Steinbrenner, some of Peretz's former editors retain a certain degree of affection for the boss. Though Michael Kelly, who served in 1996-'97, left angrily, several others, including Lane, have stayed on as a "senior editor," continuing to write for TNR while looking for other work.
Peretz himself held the title of editor from 1976 to '79, when he handed the reins over to his brilliant 28-year-old managing editor, Kinsley. Peretz seems to have an affinity for brilliant 28-year-olds: Andrew Sullivan and Beinart were also 28 at the moment of their ascension.
You can't tell the editors without a scorecard. Here's the scorecard.