New Republic continues to hit new lows as long-time and highly respected staffers continue to mount a walk out from the magazine citing unbearable leadership. Having been acquired by Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) co-founder, Chris Hughes, in 2012, the magazine has been on the rocks in the wake of admired editor, Franklin Foer, and longtime literary editor, Leon Wieseltier, being shown the door.
Genesis of Troubles
Hughes on taking over the magazine praised its rich tradition of rigorous reporting affirming his promise of maintaining the rich culture. Sooner than later, the magazine’s website was redesigned to give visitors clearer and cleaner look with writers being offered generous salaries with assurance they will be given time and space to do their work with freedom.
Hell seems to have broken loose after the Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) co-founder decided to hire former Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) official, Guy Vidra, as the magazines chief executive officer. Vidra is believed to have initiated new plans intended at reshaping the magazine to position it as an integrated digital media company much to the discontent of long time writers and editors. Disagreements began from this stage as Vidra reportedly continued to alienate senior staffers on key decisions.
Hughes Defense
Hughes has moved to calm the storm arguing that portraying the ongoing dispute as a battle between Silicon Valley and tradition only simplifies the debate that many journalistic institutions are having today. The Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Co-founder has gone to affirm that he is only trying to create a sustainable business whose focus is not on chasing traffic, but providing readers with quality content.
The ongoing mass exodus has already forced the magazine to cancel the publication of its next issue as pressure and criticism continue to mount both from the outside and the inside. Hughes stewardship leadership has also come under immense criticism from former writers and editors to the magazine.
