The Weekly Standard, a D.C.-Based Conservative Magazine, Shuts Down
The Weekly Standard is shutting down, reports its owner, Clarity Media Group, and the magazine’s final issue published on Dec. 17, reports POLITICO. According to the POLITICO post, the magazine’s staff was terminated, with pay through the end of the year; and severance “is being offered by Clarity and its publishing arm, MediaDC, two staff members told POLITICO, contingent on employees signing a nondisclosure agreement — a stringent condition from a media company that states on its website a mission to “inform and enlighten readers.”
““For more than twenty years The Weekly Standard has provided a valued and important perspective on political, literary and cultural issues of the day,” Clarity Media President and CEO Ryan McKibben said in the statement. “The magazine has been home to some of the industry’s most dedicated and talented staff and I thank them for their hard work and contributions, not just to the publication, but the field of journalism.”
“The decision to shutter came after more than a week of uncertainty for employees. Amid rumors of its possible demise, Clarity said 10 days ago that it was “exploring a number of possibilities” for the conservative journal, but since then executives have remained silent, including Clarity owner Philip Anschutz, the billionaire conservative donor.
“Rumors had been swirling about The Weekly Standard since Clarity announced that its sister publication, the Washington Examiner, would expand with a weekly conservative magazine with national distribution. With the new Examiner product positioned to take over The Weekly Standard’s corner, management decided to shutter the journal, rather than sell it or allow it to exist in some other form that could create a potential competitor to the newly expanded Examiner.
“One reason many observers speculated that Clarity might want to shutter The Weekly Standard rather than sell it was to permit the Examiner to make use of its subscriber list. A Clarity spokesperson confirmed Friday that subscribers to The Weekly Standard will now, in fact, receive the Washington Examiner instead.”
More here.
