Four more editors resigned from The New Republic Tuesday, weeks after approximately 50 of their colleagues did the same, an insider familiar with the situation told TheWrap.
Managing editor Linda Kinstler, deputy editor Amanda Silverman, assistant literary editor Becca Rothfeld, and reporter Yishai Schwartz resigned, reportedly over disagreements over the new direction of the magazine under owner Chris Hughes, CEO Guy Vidra, and new editor-in-chief Gabriel Snyder.
“As a matter of policy, we do not comment on internal personnel issues,” a spokesperson for The New Republic told TheWrap.
Following the mass exodus, Hughes penned a Washington Post op-ed denying the claims of many of his resigning editors, who insist he didn’t care to uphold the magazine’s legacy of deep-reported journalism and long-form storytelling, preferring to move TNR more in the direction of outlets like BuzzFeed.
“I’ve never bought into the Silicon Valley outlook that technological progress is pre-ordained or good for everyone, Hughes wrote. “I don’t share the unbridled, Panglossian optimism and casual disdain for established institutions and tradition of many technologists. New technologies and start-ups excite and animate me, but they don’t always make our lives or institutions better. That’s one of the many reasons why I bought the New Republic — to preserve and invest in an important institution in a time of great technological change.”
As TheWrap reported, several former editors countered Hughes’ claims, painting a picture of a young owner who never cared to understand the journalistic importance of TNR.
“The only ‘tradition’ Chris Hughes seems to care about is that of the Harvard housing lottery, which put him in the position to act out his insecurities by demolishing a once-great magazine,” former editor James Kirchick told TheWrap.
The December 15th issue of the magazine was canceled due to the army of resignations — pushed back to February 2nd.