.jpg) December 24, 2018 issue ofThe Weekly Standard | |
| Editor | Stephen F. Hayes |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Weekly |
| Publisher | Terry Eastland |
| Total circulation (December 2018) | ~50,000[1] |
| First issue | September 1995; 29 years ago (1995-09) |
| Final issue | December 2018; 6 years ago (2018-12) |
| Company | Clarity Media Group |
| Country | United States |
| Based in | Washington, D.C. |
| Language | English |
| Website | Archived 31 December 2018 at theWayback Machine |
| ISSN | 1083-3013 |
The Weekly Standard was an Americanneoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by foundersBill Kristol andFred Barnes, theStandard was described as a "redoubt of neoconservatism" and as "the neocon bible."[2][3] Its founding publisher,News Corporation, debuted the title on September 18, 1995.[4] In 2009, News Corporation sold the magazine to a subsidiary ofthe Anschutz Corporation.[5] On December 14, 2018, its owners announced that the magazine would cease publication, with the last issue to be published on December 17.[6] Sources have attributed its demise to an increasing divergence between Kristol and other editors' shift towards anti-Trump positions on the one hand, and the magazine's audience's shift towardsTrumpism on the other.[7]
Many of the magazine's articles were written by members ofconservative think tanks located inWashington, including theAmerican Enterprise Institute, theEthics and Public Policy Center, theFoundation for Defense of Democracies, theHudson Institute, and theForeign Policy Initiative. Individuals who wrote for the magazine includedElliott Abrams,Peter Berkowitz,John Bolton, Ellen Bork,David Brooks,Gertrude Himmelfarb,Christopher Hitchens,Harvey Mansfield,Cynthia Ozick,Joe Queenan, andJohn Yoo. The magazine's website also produced regular online-only commentaries and news articles. The site's editorial stance was described as neoconservative.[8][9][10][11][12]
TheStandard was viewed as heavily influential during theadministration of President George W. Bush (2001–2009), being called thein-flight magazine ofAir Force One.[13] In 2003, although the magazine's circulation was only 55,000, Kristol said that "We have a funny relationship with the top tier of the administration. They very much keep us at arm's length, butVice PresidentDick Cheney does send over someone to pick up 30 copies of the magazine every Monday."[14]
In 2006, though the publication had never been profitable and reputedly lost more than a million dollars a year, News Corporation headRupert Murdoch initially dismissed the idea of selling it.[15] Subsequently, in June 2009, a report circulated that a sale of the publication toPhilip Anschutz was imminent, with Murdoch's position being that, having since purchasedThe Wall Street Journal in 2007, his interest in the smaller publication had diminished.[16][17]The Washington Examiner reported that month that theExaminer's parent company, the Anschutz-ownedClarity Media Group, had purchased theStandard;[18][19] the price was about $1 million.[20]
TheStandard increased its paid circulation by 39 percent between its June 2009 and June 2010BPA statements.[21] Its print circulation of about 100,000 in 2013 had decreased to 72,000 by 2017, according to the BPA, with circulation dropping about 10 percent between 2016 and 2017.[13]
In late 2016, Kristol ended his time as editor-in-chief.[22] He was replaced by Stephen Hayes, the magazine's senior writer.[23] Under Hayes' leadership, theStandard continued to be as critical of Donald Trump as it had been under Kristol; Trump's supporters in turn criticized theStandard, and the magazine's influence as Republican circles dwindled.[24]
In December 2017,The Weekly Standard became an officialfact-checking partner forFacebook.[25]
On December 14, 2018, Clarity Media Group announced that it would cease publication of the magazine after 23 years. While some speculated that the closure ofThe Weekly Standard was so Clarity Media's other magazine, theWashington Examiner, could absorb theStandard's subscribers, a statement from Clarity Media Group chairman Ryan McKibben said that such speculation was incorrect.[26][27] Kristol attributed the magazine's demise to the hostility of supporters of theDonald Trump administration.[28]
TheStandard promoted and supported the invasion of Iraq to removeSaddam Hussein. In November 1997Bill Kristol andRobert Kagan wrote an editorial titled "Saddam Must Go", in which they stated "We know it seems unthinkable to propose another ground attack to take Baghdad. But it's time to start thinking the unthinkable."[29]
In the first issue the magazine published after9/11, according toScott McConnell ofThe American Conservative, "Gary Schmitt andTom Donnelly, two employees of Kristol’sPNAC, clarified what ought to be the country’s war aims. Their rhetoric was to link Saddam Hussein andOsama bin Laden in virtually every paragraph, to join them at the hip in the minds of readers, and then to lay out a strategy that actually gave attacking Saddam priority over eliminating al-Qaeda."[30]
On December 16, 2018, co-founder and contributing editorJohn Podhoretz defended the coverage answering the question byLulu Garcia-Navarro onNPR: "Do you regret the coverage of Iraq War?" saying "I think, basically, what—all a magazine—editors, writers—can promise is that they will be honest and say what they mean and think and argue the best way that they can. And with the facts available at the time, that is what TheStandard did."[31]
In 1997, nearly a year after a cover story that included allegations of hiring a prostitute andplagiarism against best-selling authorDeepak Chopra, the editors ofThe Weekly Standard accepted full responsibility for the errors in the story, and apologized."[32][33] Chopra claimed that the magazine settled for $1.6 million.[34]
the Weekly Standard, ... is known as a redoubt of 'neoconservatism'
... the neo-con bible, The Weekly Standard ...
Media related toThe Weekly Standard at Wikimedia Commons
