In a way, you have to almost admire Gabriel Snyder’s and Guy Vidra’s efficiency. Most people in their position – promoted far beyond their competence, while blissfully unaware of the fact – would take two, three print issues to demonstrate that they really have no business running a print magazine. It takes a special kind of almost holy imbecility to demonstrate it before the first issue can even come out. But they managed!
The New Republic will not publish the issue that had been slated to hit shelves on December 15, following Friday’s mass resignation by top editors and contributors.
“As you know, an issue that was in production by recently departed editors and writers, scheduled to appear on newsstands on December 15th, was left unfinished,” Guy Vidra, the New Republic’s chief executive, wrote in a memo to staff on Saturday. “Despite the incredible work you all are doing, going forward with the issue would run the risk of falling short of this institution’s renowned high standards.”
No word whether the memo wast emailed, typed, or written on crayon. Although, knowing Gawker, that last is actually the least likely. Not because Gawker alumni have made it up to pen and paper; merely because if you give the average Gawker writer a crayon, he’ll promptly shove it up his nose…
Moe Lane
PS: I am, like Glenn Reynolds, amazed that the magazine actually canceled an issue. Miss a deadline? Yes, it happens. But you put out something. Maybe it’s late. Maybe it’s indifferently edited. Maybe it’s a sixteen-page cobbled-together piece of garbage that will promptly be recycled into toilet paper. But the purpose of a publisher is to publish. You cannot expected to be taken seriously as a publisher if you let a thing like most of your staff abruptly quitting stop you. Does anybody really think that this is the first time that this has ever happened to a magazine?
…Sheesh, probably a lot of people over on the Left do. History to that crowd is a class that other people took.
Are they hiring? I can write dribble too!
.
See: Dribble dribble dribble dribble dribble. Dibble dribble dribble.
What a great message to send to your surviving staff:
“All of our good writers have left, and it would be unfair to expect the rest of you to learn to write good stuff in time to get the next issue out. But reast assured that we’ll be looking for good writers
(oops)
But rest assured that we’ll be looking for good writers over the next several weeks.”
I’m reminded of Kissinger’s remark about the Iran-Iraq War.
But, in this case, maybe they really all CAN lose.