Fall of the New Republic?: Mag Seeks New Owner or Fresh Investors

Image via WikipediaThe New York Times' Dealbook is reporting today that the 98-year-old bastion of liberal literati, The New Republic, is looking for suitors that either may result in an ownership change or a stable of new investors.

Founded by political scribe Walter Lippmann in 1914 and whose pages in the past have been graced by prominent authors such as Philip Roth, George Orwell and Virginia Wolff, The New Republic has been owned since 2009 by long-time Editor-in-Chief Marty Peretz and a group of investors headed by Lazard media banker Laurence Grafstein. Dealbook reports that the possible sale of the bi-weekly will be overseen by the Blackstone Group.

According to Dealbook, interest in the periodical, whose 2009 circulation figures were roughly 53,500, has been shown by several media groups, including Yahoo, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg LP. Others are expected to kick the tires of the struggling journal, which has yet to solidify a digital makeover plan.