Product Description

The New Republic is a journal of opinion with an emphasis on politics and domestic and international affairs. It carries feature articles by staff and contributing editors. The second half of each issue is devoted to book and the arts, theater, motion pictures, music and art.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #807 in Magazine Subscriptions
• Formats: Magazine Subscription, Print

Customer Reviews

New format is less satisfying.
The New Republic is one of the oldest political opinion magazines in the United States. Last year, along with new ownership, the editors changed the format of the magazine from weekly to bi-weekly, increasing the page count, changing the font, and switching to glossy cover stock.

While always a magazine of the left, the New Republic has had a history of centrism and occasional flirtations with the right. The storied editorship of Michael Kinsley in the 80's is considered by many to be the magazines high point.

The recent changes in format, ownership, and editorial direction has accompanied a stronger shift to the left than in recent years and I feel that the magazine has lost some of its intellectual vigor and has descended into blatant partisanship.

I started reading the magazine in the last few months of the old format and absolutely loved it. With the change in format and Peter Beinert's departure there was a noticeable change in the tone of the magazine: decidedly shrill and more strident. Jonathan Chait's horrendous editorials come to mind. Name calling substituted for honest debate does not help either.

To compare with other publications on the Left, The New Republic as it used to be conveyed a more intellectual tone similar to Dissent. Now it is more radical like The Nation and The Progressive but without the passion and intellectual dedication.

As a conservative I enjoy reading the opinions of the opposition but only if they are presented with intelligence and seriousness. All in all the New Republic is not too bad a publication taken on its own but if you really enjoyed the magazine as it was you will be sorely disappointed. If you are new to the magazine and are looking for something different then I would cautiously recommend it but one would probably be better off sifting through the issues as they come out at the newsstand and only buy the better ones.

Nonessential
The New Republic is a center-left glossy filled with opinionated journalism of varying quality. There is perhaps one must-read article in each issue (such as their recent profile of Larry Summers), but those are available online at no cost. Their other online content, including blogs, podcasts and video, is also freely available, but is also of middling quality.

The Obama administration has been a mixed blessing for TNR: On the one hand, they've been given far more access to the new administration than they've had for at least the last 8 years. When the staff writers at TNR talk about members of the Obama administration, they are talking about people they know personally, which gives their coverage more depth. On the other hand, most of the pieces so far have adopted a cheerleader tone, feigning complaints that Obama's enormous stimulus packages are, if anything, too small. A TNR podcast complained that Obama should have "educated us" rather than compromise on a meager $700 billion.

This sort of superficial analysis positions TNR on the same intellectual plane as TIME or Newsweek, raising interesting ideas but never giving them the careful (and skeptical) consideration that they deserve. Contrast this to The Atlantic, a magazine that is more substantive, carries a wider range of non-political content, and is cheaper to boot. The choice is clear.