Are Bake Sales Next?

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It's come to this: editorial staffers at The New Republic have been selling subscriptions to the liberal periodical to their friends and family members, vying for the chance to win an iPad Mini if they outsold their colleagues.

Forbes Magazine reported today on the intra-office competition, which management labeled a team-building exercise, but there may be something bigger and sadder at work here. Swiss Army knife journalist has entered the lexicon, the Forbes article noted, to describe the role of reporters in today's depleted newsrooms, which includes writing and editing, snapping photos and making videos, recording podcasts and writing code.
A direct plea for financial assistance to readership is gaining traction among publications as advertising revenue evaporates and circulation continues to shrink at most magazines.

The senior editor who bested her co-workers by selling 55 of the 309 special promotional subscriptions sold may have added to her skills set, but it remains to be seen whether TNR, whose circulation has roughly remained in the 50,000 range over the past several years, will benefit in the long run. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes acquired the periodical in 2012 and assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief.

Fund-raising tip to TNR: gift-wrap and restaurant coupons are easier to hawk than magazines.

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.

The New Republic Has Fewer Editorial Staffers

Image via Wikipedia

Five editorial staffers at The New Republic, including senior editor Christopher Orr, have been let go in the face of slumping ad sales and ciruclation.

The center-left semi-monthly politics and arts magazine, which was co-founded by Walter Lippmann in 1914, is reducing its workforce by between 10 to 15 percent. Frank Foer stays on as editor, but some staffers, although still listed in the masthead, will become freelancers. The New Republic is owned by Marty Peretz and in 2007, had a circulation of roughly 60,000.