Patterico's Pontifications

12/15/2018

President Trump: Good Riddance To The Weekly Standard

Filed under: General — Dana @ 5:37 pm



[guest post by Dana]

What sad news to learn that The Weekly Standard is no more:

The Weekly Standard went out of business on Friday—killed by right-wing Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz, who purchased the respected 23-year-old conservative journal from its original owner, Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp, in 2009, for a reported $1 million.

“We are done,” Stephen F. Hayes, the Standard’s editor in chief, told his staff of nearly 40 Friday morning, after a brief meeting with executives of Anschutz’s Clarity Media Group in Washington, D.C.

Employees had their company email abruptly cut off on Friday; on Thursday, editors toiling to finish the final issue—which was emailed to an estimated 110,000 subscribers on Friday and will be circulated in a last print edition dated Dec. 17—had trouble gaining access to the Weekly Standard computer server, according to an email circulated among the staff.

There have been suggestions in the blogosphere that the publication will killed because of its anti-Trump tilt. However, that might not be accurate:

Some are suggesting the magazine — which shared parent ownership with The Post for its first 14 years — was killed for being too critical of President Trump. But none of our sources are buying that claim.

After all, as John Podhoretz, who co-founded the magazine with Bill Kristol, notes, not being a team player was always part of The Weekly Standard’s DNA.

And that was deliberate: “Our loyalty was to the ideas in which we believed,” he writes, “not to the Republican Party.” In that respect, it provided a vital platform for trenchant and incisive conservative opinionizing, as well as important hard-news reporting, feature writing and biting satire.

It’s also not definitively clear whether the publication was shuttered due to personal reasons or the result of a shrewd business decision:

The magazine’s owner, Clarity Media Group, is shifting subscriptions to the magazine version of another of its products, The Washington Examiner. But insiders doubt boosting the Examiner was truly sufficient reason not to just sell the Standard, and suggest a personal vendetta is at work.

Interestingly:

Murdoch patiently funded their magazine for 14 years, and it garnered praise for editorial excellence even as it consistently lost money—between $2 million and $4 million a year, according to a source familiar with the figures.

The magazine continued to lose similar amounts under Anschutz’s ownership, which didn’t prevent the billionaire from authorizing hires of new staff in the past two years before apparently losing enthusiasm.

Ironically, the Washington Examiner—the principal beneficiary of The Standard’s demise—is said to be even more unprofitable. Representatives of Clarity Media Group didn’t respond to a phone message seeking comment.

According to one reporter, Clarity’s CEO was a total jerk in a meeting wtih the newly unemployed:

I obtained audio of today’s staff meeting where Clarity Media Group announced the closure of The Weekly Standard. Clarity’s CEO told employees, “Don’t get on social media and attack anybody because it will put your severance in jeopardy”

Honestly, I really don’t know the real reason for TWS shutting down. What I do know is that there are now a number of talented writers currently out of work. And, that the closing of the publication comes in the midst of the Christmas season makes it even worse. Whether a publication swings left or right, we should root for their existence, and hope that they publish challenging and thoughtful pieces. Pieces that either confirm your positions held, or are so substantial and provocative that they become mini-revelations compelling readers to reconsider what they think about an issue. As far as the conservative point-of-view is concerned, it really is a blow to have one less voice extolling conservative principles and ideals. Even if one hasn’t agreed with everything put out by TWS, there is little doubt that they have always produced interesting, complex and challenging material. One’s mind can be sharpened in so many ways. I’m hoping and praying that these writers find work soon, and are able to once again be a public voice for the conservative movement.

With that, I was horrified to see the President of the United States attack The Weekly Standard after its closure was announced:

Untitled

W.T.F.!! Our president is happy to see a conservative publication shuttered, and its employees losing their jobs. Because he is so damn petty, vindictive, thin-skinned, and unable to rise above any criticism, he couldn’t just keep his yap shut but instead viciously rubbed salt in the wound of unemployed Americans who are now trying to figure out their next move. What an outrageous thing to do because you don’t like what was said about you. Boo-hoo, you big fat baby. Only a self-centered pustule of a human being would stoop so low. That he is our sitting president makes it worse. And what is so utterly ridiculous is that he doesn’t seem to realize that *he is* the sitting president. He won the election. None of Kristol’s preferred candidates won. This insipid man-child has yet again diminished his position by his behavior, and he has cast immense doubts on any claims made that he is concerned about unemployment in this country, and the livelihood of Americans. There is absolutely no excuse for this. There is also absolutely no defense that can be made on his behalf. He is a grown man, he owns his imbecilic behavior.

#BeBest, my ass.

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

–Dana

Virtually All Trump-Led Organizations Under Investigation

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 4:16 pm



Washington Post:

Two years after Donald Trump won the presidency, nearly every organization he has led in the past decade is under investigation.

Trump’s private company is contending with civil suits digging into its business with foreign governments and with looming state inquiries into its tax practices.

Trump’s 2016 campaign is under scrutiny by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, whose investigation into Russian interference has already led to guilty pleas by his campaign chairman and four advisers.

Trump’s inaugural committee has been probed by Mueller for illegal foreign donations, a topic that the incoming House Intelligence Committee chairman plans to further investigate next year.

Trump’s charity is locked in an ongoing suit with New York state, which has accused the foundation of “persistently illegal conduct.”

The mounting inquiries are building into a cascade of legal challenges that threaten to dominate Trump’s third year in the White House. In a few weeks, Democrats will take over in the House and pursue their own investigations into all of the above — and more.

How you perceive this is almost certainly driven by your view of the man. Do you think he’s a con artist and a clown? Then you’re likely to react to this by saying: “Good.” Do you think he’s a Hero of the People who has been unfairly targeted by the Deep State? Then you probably see this as a very bad thing — perhaps close to treason.

Either way, lots of good drama headed your way with the Reality Show Presidency. Season Three is going to be a blockbuster. Too bad we can’t binge watch it all now.

Ah, even watching it day to day will feel like binge-watching anyway.


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